Ranma 1/2 and Gundam/Nadesico: "Fallen Star"
by Gray
Summary: The war between the Earth and the Colonial forces rages on, and to Ranma, it all seems so stupid, and none of his concern. That is, until Nerima is reduced to a pile of rubble thanks to a mobile suit battle. Now he'll do anything for revenge, revenge on t
1. "Set Into Motion"

Disclaimer: Just in case you didn't know already, I don't own this stuff

Disclaimer: Just in case you didn't know already, I don't own this stuff.

Note: For the purposes of this fic, it takes place in the Gundam Wing universe, except the colonies send more than just the Gundams to battle. So the colonies are actually sort of like the Duchy of Zeon, except not in name. They send Zaku suits, and whatnot, but there are also the Gundams obviously. Zaku suits are roughly equal to Leo's in terms of strength, and inferior to Gundams obviously. Earth uses Leo's and the like, and OZ is still here. Story begins one year after Gundams have come which set off war between the colonies and the Earth. Ranma and company live in AC time. Yes things are different, but that's just to make it flow better. 

Ranma ½ and Gundam/Nadesico  "Fallen Star" 

Chapter 1: "Set Into Motion" 

By Gray

"Why must everything change? Why can't anything ever remain as it is? Is it simply fate? Or is there some other reason? They say change brings misfortune, and my life is proof of that. Even my body changes, and with that change I no longer am myself, at least not physically. Perhaps it is not my place to ask why things are the way they are. Why this damn war will not end, why I am cursed to become something I'm not, both figuratively and literally. Why my whole life was destroyed by the destructiveness and carelessness of one person. That one person, who piloted a mobile suit of great power and in the process of escaping the pursuit of OZ soldiers, destroyed the only home I have ever known, and killed the only family I have ever had. The anger I feel towards him is not an explosive, raging kind like that of some, but rather a cold, numb feeling where my soul used to be. The old woman once taught me a technique called the soul of ice. Let's just say that I've mastered it, among other things. And soon, very soon, I will find the Gundam pilot who slaughtered the ones I love, and he will pay. He will pay dearly."

Tokyo Japan, the ruins of Nerima District. Once a thriving place, full of life, as well as daily martial arts battles, mystic events, panty raids, and God only knows what else. Now just another wasteland of war. The flames may have died down from the explosive battle between a Gundam and OZ soldiers, but the silent cries of those who perished still linger, even after almost a year. One man, barely 20 years old by his looks stands by the wreckage of a particular home, staring at it silently. His blue eyes, once full of life much like the area he stands in, are now devoid of any sort of happiness, though if one were to look closely, they would see a cold flame burning in their depths. The man is dressed in a familiar outfit consisting of a red Chinese shirt, and black drawstring pants tied at the ankles as well as the waist. He also still sports a familiar pigtail. Another figure walks up from behind him, stopping a few feet away.

"It's been a while…" The pig-tailed man says in greeting without turning around. The other figure nods and speaks.

"It has at that…Ranma." Ranma smirks a bit.

"4 years or so, if I'm not mistaken, Doctor Tofu…" He says as he turns to regard Tofu. The chiropractor still wears glasses, and still has a small ponytail, but his face, much like Ranma's, is full of pain. He's dressed in a flawless black suit complete with tie, and he smiles at Ranma in what he hopes is a warm way, though it comes off more as being strained.

"Yes, it has been 4 years, since I moved away from here to try and better myself for…her." He bowed his head sadly.

"But when I finally, finally cured myself, I was on my way back to Nerima, when a news bulletin reported it destroyed." He whispered the last part, his face still bowed. Ranma nodded slightly and turned back to the wreckage.

"Yup, a Gundam, destroyed almost the whole area, in a battle with OZ. It figures that it had to be here…" Ranma spat out the last part, anger beginning to seep into his voice. Tofu nodded sorrowfully.

"Yes, I heard about it all. The Tendo Dojo was wiped out was it not? With no survivors?" Tofu asked with a tremor in his voice. Ranma smirked again.

"What's the matter Doc. Don't you recognize where we're standing? Don't you realize what I'm staring at?" He asked humorlessly despite the smirk. Tofu's eyes widened as he realized exactly where he was standing. Right in front of where the gate of the Tendo Dojo used to be.

"My God… I…I had no idea, it's been so long, I didn't recognize it like this…" He muttered as he took a step closer. Ranma grinned, though it was not a happy grin.

"Don't feel bad Doc, when I got back from the training trip I had gone on when this happened, I didn't recognize it either…" Tofu walked over to where Ranma was standing, stumbling slightly, and collapsed to his knees there. 

"Kasumi…" He whispered. Ranma sighed and bowed his head.

"Yeah, their all gone…Kasumi, Nabiki, Mr. Tendo, Pop, Mo-Mother, and…and Akane…" He clenched his fists angrily at her name. Showing sorrow for the first time in front of Tofu. Ranma then raised his head and looked at Tofu critically.

"So what brings you here Doc, if you didn't recognize the area, then you must have been looking for me. Why?" He asked with little emotion in his voice, though Tofu felt a little better that at least he still called him Doc. He slowly got to his feet, and adjusted his glasses.

"Yes, well, when I discovered that Nerima had been destroyed, I became a broken man. I drank, I let my practice fall to pieces, and I lost almost everything. Then, through a friend, I managed to get a job at a very large and wealthy heavy industries company. The company is called Nergal, and it's now the biggest company in the world. I'm going to be working as a doctor aboard a new vessel they just completed. A privately owned battleship, called the Nadesico…" He trailed off as Ranma blinked at the name. 

"Don't ask…anyway, right now they're in the process of assembling a crew. Naturally, they pretty much have little to work with since the military and OZ have all the experienced personnel working for them already, so the crew is going to be a bit unorthodox. Anyway, one of the reasons I got a job onboard a battleship created to battle the colonies was to fulfill a need to, even in so small a way, avenge those I lost in the massacre. Then, I found out that you were still alive…and well, I thought I should give you the same chance…" He noticed that Ranma's eyes showed a sign of…interest perhaps?

"You see, Nergal is testing out a new type of mobile suit. It's called an Aestivalis, and the reason they're so different, besides the fact that they are modeled somewhat after the Gundams, is that they are piloted through the use of nanomachines…" Ranma blinked at that word.

"Nanomachines…? You mean like tiny, microscopic machines?" He questioned. Tofu's eyes widened.

"You know of them? I'm a bit surprised…" Ranma chuckled at his words.

"Why? Because I'm not quite as dumb as I used to be? Well, let's just say that I've been trying to better myself a little, and improving my speech, as well as my vocabulary is part of that…" Tofu looked skeptical. Ranma sighed.

"Well, actually, I was trying to get into OZ, but I failed their academic entrance test, and so I've been trying to improve my education so I could try again…" He said as he looked away, a tad embarrassed that he had failed the test. Tofu just took it in stride and continued his story.

"Yes well, anyway, the process by which an Aestivalis is piloted involves these nanomachines being injected into the individual, and using them to interface, and manipulate the mobile suit. However the process is imperfect, and has already killed several volunteers. But while the risks are high, the reward is a shot at the colonies, and in specific, the five Gundams…" He was interrupted by Ranma raising a hand to stop him.

"Say no more Doc… just tell me where I sign." 

The paperwork went surprisingly swiftly, and it became obvious to Ranma that they were desperate for volunteers for this thing.

"Good thing I have some experience in piloting suits at least…" He thought to himself as he turned his completed forms in. The woman who received his filled out papers gave him a look of sympathy, and he tried hard to ignore it. Sympathy was one thing he didn't need, or want for that matter. As he waited for his turn to be injected, he noticed that there were about five other guys still in the room with him. A sickening scream was heard, and the sound of a body bag being zipped up could be heard. One guy sitting in the room threw up on the floor, and Ranma did his best to ignore it. Why were they so afraid of death? Didn't they know that there was nothing to live for anyway? 

"Nothing except revenge…" Ranma thought as his turn came next. The woman who would administer the injection had a clinical air to her, made even more so by the white lab coat she wore. She was blonde, and had narrower eyes than most, though Ranma had to admit that she was rather attractive, in a cold sort of way, though he suspected she wasn't as icy as she looked.

"Just to let you know, the success rate of this is less than 12%…" She said as she prepared the injection. Ranma shrugged, much to her amazement.

"Aren't you scared?" She asked, clearly puzzled. He shrugged again.

"Not really, I don't have much to lose…" He muttered almost as an afterthought. She blinked in confusion, clearly puzzled by the young man's odd behavior, but decided to just do her job. 

"I'm Ines by the way, Ines Fresange…" She said. Now why had she told him that? Especially when he was probably about to die. She disregarded that and placed the needle against his neck.

"Are you ready?" She asked with a small tremor in her voice. Despite her outward coldness, she always hated this part. He just closed his eyes, and she took that as a yes.

"Here goes…" She said as she pressed the trigger of the injector. A click was heard by Ranma, before a white hot pain surged through his body, making him want to scream out, but he held it in, not willing to show any weakness, although a small part of him came to the conclusion that he was dying. Oh well, maybe now he would finally see Akane and the others, though he wished that he could have avenged them all first, but he gave it his best shot, no use in crying over it. That was his last thought as everything went black.

Heero Yuy was not exactly the type of person who could be surprised easily, despite his young looks, he had seen and done far more than any other person his age. Bred to be the ultimate soldier, he was as cold and ruthless as they came. The scientists had done their job well. Still, the message he had just received on his laptop from Dr. J did cause a slight twitching of his facial features. Though it was no big deal at all for a normal person, for Heero it was the equivalent of a look of shock. The new orders he had just received called for him to aid a squad of Zaku in their assault on a non-military heavy weapons factory in Japan. Apparently they were building some sort of new battleship there. It was actually somewhat close to Tokyo. Thinking of the location gave him chills as he recalled the last time he had been in Japan on a mission. But he banished thoughts of this from his mind and instead concentrated on his new assignment. How the Doctor had gotten hold of the colony's mission plans was beyond him, but he wasn't about to question. Though he and the other Gundam pilots worked separately from the regular colonial forces, that didn't mean they were on different sides. They just fought in different ways. Deciding he had best get to the assigned area ASAP, he shut his laptop off and activated his Wing Gundam, which was currently hidden in a small lake and in auxiliary power mode to conserve energy. After igniting his thrusters and hurtling out of the lake, Heero whispered quietly to himself.

"Mission… accepted…"

"Damn, not another one…!" Akane cried as she watched the news report on the television show an OZ Leo mobile suit getting blown apart by a colonial Zaku Assault suit. Kasumi looked up at her younger sister.

"Akane, language please…" She said in atired tone, as if used to doing it often. Akane looked sheepish.

"Sorry Kasumi…" She muttered, before turning back to the TV. Soun sat in his usual position with Genma, playing a rousing game of "anything-goes style shogi" as they called it. Nodoka just called it "cheater's style shogi" but they ignored her. Nodoka herself sat on the couch beside Kasumi, and continued to knit something, while the eldest Tendo girl followed suit. Nabiki was watching TV with Akane on the floor, and also adding her verbal signs of annoyance as more and more Earth Federation mobile suits were reduced to scrap by the larger Zaku force that had attacked the military base off the coast of Nagasaki earlier in the day. The footage showed the battle in detail, though the terrible losses suffered by the Earth were somewhat disconcerting. Ranma walked in after several moments, clothed in a tank top and toweling himself off after a fairly intense workout in the dojo. Akane looked up at him and motioned for him to come over.

"Hey Ranma, wanna watch the news with us?" She asked calmly. The pig-tailed boy shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Feh, what do I care 'bout some stupid idiots who don't even know how to fight killing each other in big dumb tin cans?" He said as he continued his trek up to his room. Nodoka stopped him with a disapproving glance.

"Ranma, show more respect for our soldiers. They're out there fighting for us all!" She said, to which Akane nodded.

"Yeah Ranma, you should show more interest in the war, it's very important!" She said, to which Ranma scowled.

"Aw, who cares, buncha idiots thinkin' they'll settle everything by killin' each other…buncha morons if ya ask me…" He trailed off in incoherent mutterings and continued upstairs. Nabiki spoke up however.

"Really Ranma, you should be more concerned about it, you never know when it will affect you." Ranma just scowled deeper and stalked upstairs.

"Tch, wadda I care bout some stupid war…those idiots can kill each other if they want, I don't give a damn, it's not my problem…"

"Not my problem…" Ranma gasped and shot up out of the bed he was in, causing Ines Fresange to gasp and back away from him, and Doctor Tofu to look at him concernedly.

"Are you alright Ranma?" He asked, to which the young man looked up at him blankly.

"It was just a dream then…" He whispered, before sighing and closing his eyes sadly. Tofu looked confused.

"Ranma…?" Ranma shook his head and bowed it.

"Nothing Doc, just some memories…nothing to worry about." His bangs obscured his eyes, and if one could see them, one would see that they had unshed tears lurking in their depths. Then he came to a realization and whipped his head up.

"Wait a minute, I'm alive!" He cried and whipped his head over to Dr. Fresange, who smiled slightly.

"Yes, Ranma, miraculously enough, you beat the odds and survived the nano-injection, which means you are now able to pilot an Aestivalis." She said, to which Ranma smiled slightly.

"Good, when do I get started?" He asked.

"As soon as possible Mr. Saotome." A voice called as the door to the rest room opened, revealing two men. One rather short, and the other extremely large. It was the smaller man who had spoken. He was dressed in an odd sort of outfit with a tie, and had glasses and a moustache. All in all, he looked somewhat like an executive type. He pushed his glasses up slightly.

"Congratulations on surviving the procedure Mr. Saotome." He said a she shook Ranma's hand. Ranma wordlessly returned the handshake and blinked as the big man saluted him.

"Welcome aboard, Pilot Saotome…" The man said in a gruff voice. Ranma just nodded seriously in response.

When the two had left, Ranma thumbed the door they had exited dubiously.

"Who the heck were they?" He asked, to which Ines smiled slightly.

"Oh, well, the large one was Mr. Goat Hoary, our military adviser. The other man was Mr. Prospector, he's sort of our liaison with Nergal, he's also in charge of all matters regarding finance and whatnot." Ranma nodded his head and crossed his arms. Then he noticed the strange marking on his right hand.

"What the heck is that!?" He asked as he turned his hand in different ways to examine it. He noted that it glistened slightly when it caught the light, giving it a myriad of colorings, similar to a rainbow. 

"That would be your nano-tattoo. It's something caused by the nanomachines currently swimming around in your bloodstream as we speak, and it basically indicates that you have them. It also functions as a sort of control indicator. It will flash when you interface with the Aestivalis or any other mechanical device that uses nanomachines to function." Ines explained as Ranma continued to examine his "tattoo" in curiosity.

"Man, weird stuff…" He muttered, before turning to the two doctors.

"So, can I get out of bed now?" He asked curiously. Tofu chuckled and moved over to him.

"Yes Ranma, just as soon as I conduct a quick examination of you." He said as he began to do just that.

"Amazing, I've never seen someone recover so quickly!" Tofu said as he finished his examination. Ines was similarly awed, even more so in fact considering that she had never seen Ranma's amazing recovery ability.

"Simply astounding! I swear Ranma, sometimes I think you aren't human!" Tofu exclaimed in a joking manner. Ranma bowed his head slightly.

"Maybe I'm not, at least…not anymore…" He whispered. Tofu and Ines blinked in confusion.

"What?" They asked, to which Ranma just shook his head.

"Nothing, can I go now?" He asked calmly. 

"Um, sure Ranma…why don't you go explore the ship…it's going to launch soon…" Tofu said, to which Ranma nodded slightly and left the room without another word, leaving Tofu and Ines to blink at each other in confusion.

"What was that about?" They asked simultaneously.

"So, I'm finally here…" Ranma muttered as he gazed at an Aestivalis towering above him in the hangar of the Nadesico. 

"This is what I'm going to pilot, hmm, it does look sorta like a Gundam, I guess, although it looks less…agile I guess, which isn't always a good thing, but then again, it certainly looks a lot better than those stupid Leo's they made us train in back in basic…" He thought to himself as he noted that some maintenance crewmembers were making last minute checks on the various Aestivalis standing around the hangar. Ranma sighed and bowed his head.

"God, Akane, I miss you so much…" He said quietly as tears threatened to spill past his eyelids once more.

"Who's Akane…?" A voice said from behind him.

"Gah! Who's there!" Ranma yelled as he leapt up and landed in a defensive stance, ready to retaliate against any attacks from his unnoticed opponent. Anyone good enough to sneak up on him had to be a skilled martial artist, and skilled martial artists usually meant potential rival with him.

"Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry! You can have my money, just don't do anything to me!" Needless to say, he almost face-faulted when he saw that the individual in question was in fact a scared looking young girl about his age with long shiny blue hair. She continued to tremble in fear, and Ranma sighed and tried to calm her down.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry for scaring you like that. It was dumb of me, and I was just a little surprised that's all!" He soothed, trying not to make any threatening gestures. The girl seemed to calm down a bit, and breathed out a sigh of relief. 

"So, you mean, you aren't going to steal all my valuables and do horrible things to my body?" She asked curiously, all fear seemingly gone. This time, Ranma did face-fault. When he got up his expression showed a great deal of anger and shock.

"What!? No! Where in the hell did you get a crazy idea like that!?" He yelled, causing her to cringe slightly. Blowing out a breath to calm himself, Ranma visibly relaxed, and tried again.

"Look, let's just forget all about that okay? Let's start over. My name is Ranma, Ranma Saotome…" He didn't use the familiar finish "of the anything-goes school of martial arts!" because that school was dead. Dead when all the other practitioners, as well as the only actual dojo that taught it, were blown away like so many leaves in the wind. At the thought of the massacre, his fists clenched, but he calmed himself when he saw the girl introducing herself as well.

"My name is Yurika Misumaru, and I'm the Captain of the Nadesico!" She said cheerfully, to which Ranma blinked slowly and stared at her.

"This girl is the Captain!? Dear lord what have I done to deserve this? She's a goddamn twit!" He thought to himself, already knowing her personality after talking with her for only a few moments.

"These ditzy types are all the same…" She didn't seem to acknowledge his sudden silence, but did notice something else as she glanced at his right hand.

"Oh! You're a pilot! Wow! Then you must be Ranma Saotome!" She said excitedly as she shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir, and it's amazing that you were able to survive the nano-process and be up and about so soon afterward…" She blushed a bit as she seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly let go of his hand and took a step back.

"I'm sorry, you're probably tired still…would you like to rest a bit or anything, perhaps something to eat?" She asked, trying her best to be polite to the handsome, if slightly cold young man in front of her. He seemed nice enough, just a bit withdrawn. It was as if he was carrying some heavy burden. Ranma blinked as she suddenly seemed to become a bit less spastic.

"Hmm, what's up with her now?" He wondered silently to himself. She seemed to be fidgeting with her hair a bit. The fact that this was done seemingly subconsciously, meant that she no doubt did it quite often. They continued to stand in shared silence for several moments, both looking away from each other uncomfortably. Then Ranma noticed that the entire maintenance crew were standing around them staring. This was annoying to say the least.

"Don't you idiots have anything better to do!?" He yelled angrily, which caused them all to grumble and sulk away. Rubbing his forehead to ward off a large headache forming, Ranma looked up at his…Captain.

"So, would you like to accompany me to the bridge?" She asked with a smile. Ranma shrugged.

"Sure, I have to report there anyway, lead the way." He said, hoping she wouldn't realize he didn't know where on earth the bridge was. She seemed to grow slightly uncomfortable. 

"Um, actually…" She trails off.

"Actually…" Ranma says, curious as to what the problem was.

"Okay! Okay! I don't know where the bridge is!" She yells, slightly annoyed both at herself and this guy who made her admit it, despite the fact that she was the Captain of the ship. Rubbing his head to at least help the incredibly large headache that he now had, Ranma sighed.

"Alright, then why don't we just look for it together?" He said, to which she nodded excitedly.

"Okay!" Ranma just sweat-dropped at her reply.

"Man, she sure doesn't stick to one mood does she?" Suddenly, an alarm sounded throughout the ship and the base it was housed in.

"What's going on!" Ranma yelled to a running tech.

"We're under attack! There's colonial Zaku's out there! And a Gundam!" The man yelled, before dashing away. Ranma's eyes grew cold and his fists clenched.

"A Gundam…" He whispered in a hard voice.

"Yurika looked at him with a concerned expression on her face.

"Ranma…?" She said. He just ignored her and ran towards one of the Aestivalis. This one was solid black. He easily leapt straight into the cockpit, causing Yurika's, and the surrounding tech's, jaws to drop. After closing the cockpit, Ranma quickly looked at all the gleaming controls. 

"Damn, this is a little different from the Leo I trained in." Finally, he spied some familiar parts.

"Hmm, that must be the power gauge, and that has to be the comm. unit…" He trailed off as he saw a shining gem-like control near where his hand was. Its color seemed to match his tattoo.

"That must be the interface!" He thought as slapped his palm onto it. Immediately he felt a slight rush as the tiny nanomachines within his body interfaced with the controller. Outside, the Aestivalis's eyes glowed brightly, and it began to lumber towards the exit elevator.

"Wait! That's a Land Engagement frame!" One tech yelled. But Ranma paid him no heed, too focused on destroying his sworn enemy. Finally he reached the end of the elevator ride and blasted out onto the ground. 

Back inside the Nadesico, Yurika watched him go, before turning and running towards where she hoped the bridge was located.

"You won't do this alone Ranma!" She thought to herself furiously as she dashed through the halls of the Nadesico. 

Outside, Ranma started the Aestivalis's ground treads, and headed towards the first enemy mobile suit he saw. It was a Zaku, and its single eye glowed bright pink as it saw an opposing mobile suit approach at lightning speeds for a suit. It was barely able to get its gun up before Ranma rammed right into it, causing it to tumble to the ground. Once that was done, Ranma raised his mech's fist and slammed it down onto the Zaku's head, crushing it completely. 

"Damn, this suit is incredible! So strong!" He thought in wonder, before turning his attention to another Zaku who was taking aim at him from afar with a machine rifle. With a thought, Ranma dodged to the side with incredible speed, twisting to avoid the hot lead pounding towards him.

"And it reacts to my thoughts perfectly! No lumbering giant crap for me! I can be almost as acrobatic as I am in person!" Truly the Nergal techs knew what they were doing when they designed the Aestivalis mobile suit.

"This was worth the pain and risk of that nano-injection." He muttered while ducking behind some cover to avoid the three Zaku firing at him.

"Now what to do?" He wondered.

"I got it…" He thought with a grim smile. The Zaku ceased firing for a moment, curious as to what the pilot of this strange new mobile suit was going to do. They got their answer when the large rock he was hiding behind began to tremble and shake. Then, to their amazement, it was lifted into the air, held aloft by the Aestivalis's superior strength.

"Eat this!" Ranma yelled as he chucked his massive weapon at them. The boulder struck true, and crushed two of the three Zaku's. There was one left, and before he could react, Ranma had dashed towards him, and smashed his cockpit in, instantly killing the pilot. Ranma smirked ever so slightly.

"Feh, piece of cake." 

On the bridge of the Nadesico, the various crew members looked on in awe as the only pilot they currently had laid waste to four fully armed Zaku mobile suits with brutal efficiency and quickness.

"Good God, who is this guy?" Jun Aoi, second in command next to Yurika wondered out loud. Next to him, the recently arrived and hastily introduced Captain Yurika also watched in disbelief as the boy her own age she had met earlier annihilated over half of the attacking squad. Mr. Hoary turned to Mr. Prospector.

"Where in the hell did we get this guy?" Goat asked. Mr. Prospector smiled slightly.

"Why, our Doctor Tofu recommended him! Though I suspect his current skills are partly because of the Aestivalis, but he's still most impressive." The shrewd man responded without turning away from the view screen, where everyone's else's eyes were glued as Ranma destroyed yet another enemy Zaku.

"Well, there's another one, according to the radar that leaves one more…" Ranma's face then grew steely.

"Besides the Gundam of course…" He whispered coldly. His radar suddenly blared a warning, and he barely managed to bring up his arm in order to block the last Zaku's beam axe weapon.

"Damn, I got careless!" Ranma yelled. He gritted his teeth, willing the Aestivalis through his link with it to strain harder against the Zaku. But it was a losing battle as the enemy pilot had the advantage of momentum.

"Damn it! Get off me you colonial bastard!" Ranma yelled as he brought his knee up and smashed it into the Zaku's chest area, causing the suit to buckle slightly from the impact, and enabling him to bring his other arm around and smash it's fist into the Zaku's head, crushing it completely.

"Bastard…" Ranma muttered, before turning his attention skyward where his radar indicated another enemy.

"That has to be…" He trialed off as the sight in the sky made his blood run cold. Silhouetted against the moon was a vision from his nightmares. 

"The winged Gundam…" He whispered. Then his face grew hard.

"It's payback time you bastard!" 

**Author's Notes: **Yes, this is a little different from what I usually write, and many things have been changed from the various series it's based on, but that is only to make them meld together better. Next chapter will showcase the battle between an Aestivalis and a Gundam, and a battle between Ranma and Heero of course. It will also go into more detail about what Ranma did after the destruction of Nerima. Until then.


	2. "Vengeance Is All I Have Left"

Disclaimer: I want to own them, but alas, a frivoulous demon known as legality prevents me from doing so

Disclaimer: I want to own them, but alas, a frivolous demon known as legality prevents me from doing so. Ah well, I will merely take the characters and use them as I please in a non-profit manner. So there Ms. Takahashi, Mr. Asamiya, and um, all the people who own all the different Gundam series. (How many series are there? Lessee, MS, 8th, Wing, 79, 80, 83, X…)

R.5 and Gundam/Nadesico "Fallen Star" 

**Chapter 2: "Vengeance is All I Have Left"**

By Gray 

"It's payback time you bastard!" Ranma growled out as he prepared to engage the winged Gundam that had haunted his dreams for so long. Ranma grimaced as he searched for some sort of thruster ignition that would send him into the air. Finding none, he groaned.

"Oh great, don't tell me this is a land model…Argh! Damn it! Fine then, come and get me you son of a bitch!" He cried angrily, and waited for the Gundam pilot to make his move.

Up above, in the cockpit of Wing, Heero observed the mobile suit that had wiped out the entire Zaku squad in minutes. This was obviously no ordinary suit.

"Hmm, it seems to specialize in close-range combat. No visible weapons can be seen, although it could have a beam saber or something similar hidden within. But no long-range weapons can be found. Somewhat odd, but an enemy is an enemy." He thought as he prepared to dive-bomb his opponent. 

"I need to save the charges in my buster rifle for the base, so I'll destroy him through melee combat…" 

Ranma grimaced slightly as he saw his enemy approach. 

"It's just like one year ago…" His mind flashed to that time. When he had arrived in the Tokyo area from a training trip, only to find it under attack, and the winged Gundam, who had fled by the time he had made it into Nerima, haunting his mind ever since. He couldn't even close his eyes without the image of it entering his mind.

"But it ends here…I'm going to annihilate you!" Ranma roars as he met the Gundam's charge head on. The two grappled for a moment, before breaking apart and regarding each other warily.

"Hmm, he's good…" Heero thinks, as he draws his beam saber. The potent weapon burns a greenish hue, and casts shadows of the two mobile suits in the night. Ranma curses as he realizes that his Aestivalis has no weaponry attached, but doesn't let it bother him.

"Heh, I never needed weapons in training…" He muttered, before dodging the Gundam's first strike, which was a downward chop that struck the ground hard, resulting in a deep indention. Spinning, the Gundam brought the saber up and swung it in a horizontal arc meant to cleave the head off of Ranma's suit, if he had been there that is. Ranma leapt upwards, and mentally forced his suit to execute a spinning kick while in mid-air. The result was mixed. The Aestivalis was more maneuverable than a typical suit, but it was unable to completely execute the move. Instead, it spun in the air, and struck the Gundam with its leg, but landed poorly and fell on its back.

"Hmm, guess this thing needs some work, but at least I hit him. Now to finish the job…" Ranma muttered darkly as made the suit get to its feet. He automatically shifted into a combat stance in his mind, and the Aesti did the same. Several feet away, Heero got to his feet, and hastily re-evaluated the situation.

"This isn't just some OZ crony, and it isn't just the suit that's behind all that power…this guy is really good…" He grudgingly admitted, before bringing his beam saber to bear, holding it in front of Wing in a defensive posture. The two pilots faced off for a few moments, searching for a possible opening to exploit. Finally, Heero charged, swinging the saber towards Ranma's head, but at the last moment, he reversed, bringing it in the other direction. Ranma saw through the feint however, and ducked just in time. He then brought his suit up with stunning speed, and shoulder rammed Wing to the ground. Resting atop the Gundam, Ranma rained blows down upon its head mercilessly.

"Die you bastard!" Ranma cried. Within the cockpit of Wing, Heero grunted as it shook from the sheer power of the strikes. Ranma raised both hands in a hammer blow and smashed them down on Wing's head. Heero cursed as his armor took a heavy blow from the strike, and decided that he didn't like Ranma on top anymore. Though he had dropped the beam saber, he still had his shield, and brought it up, slamming the end of it into the Aesti's head forcefully. This knocked it off of him, and he quickly rolled over to where his fallen saber was lying. Snatching it up, he ignited it once more and quickly charged his enemy before the pilot could get his bearings back. The saber cut into the arm of the Aestivalis and though it didn't go all the way through, it left a large gash, weakening the arm severely. Ranma cursed and leapt back to re-orient himself. 

"Damn it all! How the hell am I supposed to beat him if I don't have any weaponry at all!" He grimaced and made a decision.

"Live or die, I'm going to kill him…"

Heero's face remained expressionless as he watched his opponent approach him once again. 

"Doesn't know when to quit obviously. Since I have superior armaments he would be prudent to retreat, but instead he keeps coming, how foolish…" He said to himself as he hefted the beam saber and charged again, this time opening the attack with his shoulder cannons, which caught the enemy in the chest, but didn't do much damage, but it did leave him open for his main attack, a downward cut from the saber. Heero blinked as he hit nothing but the ground, then he cursed as he realized his enemy had dodged to the side.

"His reflexes are impressive…" Heero thought as he took a punishing punch and kick to the side, that shook his cockpit violently.

"Glad it worked." Ranma thought as he finished the combo with another punch. He could tell that his left arm was virtually useless since it had been almost severed from the earlier attack, but his right arm and legs were fine, so he wasn't beaten yet.

"I will not lose…" He swore silently.

On the bridge of the Nadesico, Captain Yurika Misumaru watched the battle on the view screen intently.

"Captain! We're almost ready for launch!" Comm. Officer Megumi informed her. Yurika nodded to her.

"Captain. It seems that though he is holding his own, pilot Saotome is weakening. He has already lost the use of one arm." Ruri said in her cool, monotone voice. Yurika's face fell, and she turned to Megumi.

"Isn't there any way we can launch early? This is an emergency!" She asked desperately. Megumi seemed to listen to whoever was on the other end of her headset, before responding.

"Negative Captain! Launch preparations are still underway, and rushing them could be disastrous!" She said. Yurika bowed her head sadly. Minato saw this, and tried to comfort her.

"He only has to hold out a little longer Captain. I'm sure he'll be fine." She said, forcing a smile on her face. Yurika just nodded sadly.

Heero ducked a vicious strike with his shield, and gritted his teeth as it drove his suit to one knee anyway.

"Damn it, who is this pilot." He muttered, before activating the Wing's shoulder guns. Though they did little damage to his enemy's extremely durable armor, they did make him back off, and enabled Heero to stand up again. Though his enemy no longer had use of one arm, he seemed to simply adapt around the disability and still fight almost as effectively as before. But while this enemy was skilled, Heero had been trained since birth to pilot, among other things, and he doubted that there was anyone out there better at MS combat than himself. And with that thought in mind, Heero thumbed the ignition of his thrusters, and took off into the air once more.

"To hell with saving my charges, I'll destroy him with one blast from my rifle and still have two left for the base…" He thought as he pulled his Buster rifle out and took aim. Squinting to help himself line up the cross-hairs, Heero waited a moment before he achieved lock-on.

"Time to die…" He whispered, before he fired. The huge beam of pure destruction lanced out, and hurtled towards the Aestivalis at high speed, displacing the very air as it went. Within the cockpit of the black Aestivalis, Ranma cursed as he saw the blast heading for him, and moved to dodge it. 

"I won't die just yet! Not when I'm so close!" He thought, as he mentally forced the Aestivalis to dodge the beam through sheer willpower. Amazingly enough, the Aesti actually managed to leap away, though the resulting explosion threw the MS a ways away, and shook Ranma's body painfully. 

"Crap!" Ranma yelled. He gritted his teeth as he realized that he had probably cracked a rib or two. Upon seeing the MS dodge the blast, Heero grimaced slightly. But simply took aim once more.

"There's no way he can dodge another, not in that suit's condition." He thought as he prepared to fire another shot. Ranma watched the Gundam take aim again, and bowed his head sadly.

"Forgive me everyone, I failed you…" He whispered quietly. Suddenly, multiple missiles impacted against Heero's MS, causing his aim to be thrown off completely, and damaging the Gundam somewhat.

"Huh!?" Ranma looked over, and was shocked to see the Nadesico in the air, and aiming its guns at the Gundam. Within Wing, Heero cursed, and decided to retreat. If he had all three shots in his rifle, he might have been able to destroy that battleship, but with only one, and having taken significant damage to his Gundam, he knew it would be foolish to attempt it.

"We'll finish this later…" Heero thought while glancing at the fallen Aestivalis lying on the ground still, before igniting his thrusters and retreating the area. Ranma glared at him vehemently all the way.

"Are you alright Ranma!" Yurika's voice came over the comm.

"Yes…I'm fine…" He responded emotionlessly.

"Just fine…"

The medical crew aboard the Nadesico was top of the line, and within moments of his damaged suit's retrieval, Ranma was rushed to be examined by Ines and Tofu. Though he did hear the chief mechanic Seiya Uribatake throwing a fit about the damage to "his beautiful lil' Aesti." Ines and Tofu examined him, including his ribs, and determined that they were only bruised, and with his incredible healing, he would be fine within a day or two. Then it was off to be yelled at by the higher-officers on board for rushing off as he had.

"What were you thinking Saotome!" Mr. Hoary yelled as Ranma stood before him and the rest of the bridge with his head bowed slightly.

"Do you have any idea how foolhardy your actions were? Going up against a Gundam single-handedly without any training in how to use the Aestivalis is not why we hired you!" He said sternly, while Mr. Prospector adjusted his glasses and nodded in agreement.

"The cost of repairing the Aestivalis is quite high." He said simply. Ranma said nothing. Mr. Hoary grew slightly angry.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself Saotome!" He roared. Everyone watched as Ranma said nothing for several moments.

"I needed to destroy the Gundam…" He finally said. Everyone blinked in confusion.

"Destroy the Gundam?" Yurika questioned. 

"Yes, I wasn't sure if I would have another chance, so I decided to take it…" He then lifted his head, and his eyes were emotionless.

"It's the only thing I live for anymore…" He whispered, though everyone heard him. He then walked out of the room. Mr. Hoary glared at his path for a moment, before tearing his head away and turning to the Captain. She sighed.

"While the pilot's actions were irresponsible, it cannot be discounted that he was solely responsible for giving the Nadesico the valuable time it needed to launch, as well as defending the base." She said, to which Mr. Hoary grunted and nodded his head in agreement after a moment. Yurika turned to the door Ranma had exited with a peculiar look on her face.

"Was that the same Ranma I met earlier? His eyes were so cold…"

Ranma walked down the halls of the ship, not really sure of where exactly he was going, and not really caring either.

"I was so close…Damn that bastard and his mobile suit…" He thought to himself. In his mind, he replayed the battle, making subtle adjustments to his strategy. Adjustments that would enable him to perform better next time.

"Next time…I will not fail…" He was so lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't see the person he bumped into, but he recognized her from the bridge.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" He said in a monotone. The woman before him was tall, but not overly so, and had long chestnut hair, pouty lips, and a very "healthy" figure, he couldn't help but notice.

"Oh, that's alright…" She said, before her eyes widened at who it was she was talking to.

"You're the pilot…" She started. He nodded.

"Yes, and you're the…helmswoman?" He hazarded. She smiled.

"Yes, I'm Minato Haruka, nice to meet you." She held out her hand, and he shook it firmly, though not too much, as she was a woman and even now he was gentle with women. 

"Ranma Saotome…A pleasure." He said automatically. She smiled again, this time a bit wider.

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine. Though I'm curious, would you be willing to join me for a drink in the lounge?" She asked. He blinked in confusion, before shrugging.

"Sure, why not. Lead the way." He said, and she did so.

"Hmm, this stuff is pretty good. I've never had it before." Ranma said as he took another sip from his drink.

"Really? I thought everyone had champagne at least once in their life." Minato said as she also took a long sip of the golden liquid.

"They have a lot of it on hand since the Nadesico was launched and all." She said to fill the awkward silence that followed. Ranma nodded. Other than a few misc. members of the crew, they were the only ones in the lounge, and while Ranma was not allowed, being a pilot and all, Minato had gotten him in easily enough. And he could care less at this point. Following rules and regulations had never been his strong suit, even back in school…

"God why can't I ever go an hour or two without having to remember the "good old days" and getting depressed because of it?" He thought with a slight grimace. Minato noticed it.

"Don't like it anymore? I can get you another drink if you want." She said concernedly. He waved her suggestion off.

"No no, it's not that. I was just thinking about my past, nothing important." He said, to which she frowned slightly.

"So, what is your past Ranma. Why do you seem to hate the Gundams so much? We heard all of what you said while you were in that fight." She peered at his face intently, trying to ignore its handsomeness, while he stared into his drink with an unreadable expression on his face. He then got up, and made to leave, causing her to grow slightly bewildered.

"I will say this…Don't try to get too close to me, for your own good…" He then left the lounge, leaving her to blink multiple times in confusion.

"What on earth did he mean I wonder…"

Once again he was wandering the halls. It was quite late now, and to be honest, he should have been in bed, or at least in his room, but his mind was much too turbulent to even attempt sleep or rest of any kind at this point. Finally, he walked into the "meditation room" as it was called, and let a humorless smile grace his lips. Meditating had never been his thing. Better suited to "wimpy" arts like Tai Chi his Father had said, and he, in his ignorance, had agreed with the man. That was then though, this was now. He sat himself down, and began to clear his mind. After several moments of strain, he blew out a breath of annoyance and quit. Ever since the…incident, it had been impossible to cleanse his thoughts, because every time he closed his eyes, every time he delved into his own sub-consciousness, he saw it. The winged Gundam that had destroyed his life. The image of it, hovering over the destruction, and then flying away, was permanently burned in his mind just as the homes and people who had lived in Nerima Ward were burned in the flames of war and destruction. Clenching his fist, Ranma ignored the massive dark blue aura that had erupted around his body, and burned and crackled with power. His eyes were dark, like his aura. And they seemed to be lit with an unholy light as he let the anger, the sheer hatred engulf and envelope him like the presence of a familiar lover. And then the door opened. His aura winked out of existence, and he came back to himself. He turned and saw a shocked Yurika Misumaru staring at him with her jaw open. He sighed and got up.

"Did you need something Captain?" He asked. She gaped for a few more moments.

"How, how did you…" She stuttered out finally. He sighed again.

"You mean the aura?" He asked plainly. She just nodded. He closed his eyes.

"Well, to make it simple, it's a physical manifestation of my innate skill in the art and more specifically, my soul…" He trailed off at the strange look in her eyes.

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"It was dark, and, angry…" She whispered. He blinked, but nodded his head.

"Yes, yes it was." He said. She looked him in the eyes.

"If it was a manifestation of your soul…" She left the statement unfinished. He closed his eyes again.

"Yes…now what was it that you needed?" He asked. She seemed to come back to herself.

"I was just wondering if you were alright…" She answered him. He shrugged.

"So I risked a court-martial. Big deal…I'm fine." She didn't look convinced. He finally relented at her look.

"Fine, fine, no I'm not okay. I…I didn't destroy the Gundam." He said as if that answered everything. Yurika's eyebrows knitted together. 

"But why? Why do you have to destroy the Gundam so badly?" She asked. He groaned.

"What is this? Everyone's asking me that." He said. She grew a slightly more concerned look on her face.

"That's because you're a member of this crew, and like it or not, that means something." His eyes blinked at her statement, but he said nothing. He turned to go. Leaving her there. Just after the door opened, he paused and said one last thing.

"It used to be clear and sky blue…"

This piece of writing is dedicated all those affected by the tragic and horrifying events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The victims, the families, and everyone else, my prayers and thoughts are with you. 

**_God bless America._**


	3. "Why Can't I Just Forget?"

Disclaimer: I do not own these things, others do.

R.5 and Gundam/Nadesico

"Fallen Star"

Chapter 3: "Why Can't I Just Forget?"

By Gray

The ability to discern between right and wrong is something we take for granted everyday. We, as humans, pride ourselves on this skill, as it separates us from the other animals of the Earth. But sometimes, sometimes we don't have the option. In war, the line separating right and wrong, light and darkness, good and evil, man and beast, becomes so blurred, so difficult to determine, that it virtually ceases to exist entirely. It changes people. Molds them into something else, and the transformation, is always painful…

"Man, I can't wait to get back to the dojo and not to mention Kasumi's cookin'." Ranma thought to himself as he paced down the trail, smiling despite himself at the beautiful weather of the day. Taking that training trip had been a good idea actually, mainly because it gave him a chance to sort some things out, and make some important decisions about his life. One very important one in particular…

"When I get back, I'm gonna tell her…" He swore to himself, thinking about a certain girl he deeply cared for as he adjusted his heavy pack a bit. Heavy for him of course, it was impossible to lift for a normal person. 

"Ah, finally I'm here…" He thought as he stood on a small cliff out looking Tokyo. The sparkling sunlight gave the city a warm glow, and after spending two weeks in the mountains training, it looked like nirvana. Smiling wider, Ranma turned and quickened his pace down the path leading towards Nerima, and his destiny. 

"Man I hope she…" He didn't finish the thought as he heard a thunderous sound, the sound of a large explosion. He quickly turned back to the view of the city, and gasped at what he saw. Several mobile suits were battling a single one in the sky above Tokyo. He couldn't make it out, but he could tell that the single suit the others were fighting had…wings. He stared at the battle for a few more seconds, before a startling realization came to him, causing him to gasp sharply.

"They look like they're close to…Nerima…" He whispered. A sense of dread grew in his soul, and without another thought, he was leaping off the ledge, and sliding down the rocky cliffside, gaze still on the raging battle. Another explosion echoed, and he watched a building go up in flames, from stray shots fired by the Earth suits. Ranma knew that the Gundams were from the colonies, and he knew that the Earth was in a war with the colonies as a result. Upon reaching the ground, he quickly dashed towards the city, leaping atop the buildings until he was high up on skyscrapers. He made his way towards Nerima at a speed that would have to be seen to be believed, that is if one could see it considering he was a blur most of the time. When a building in front of him was too high, he simply vaulted off its side and onto another until he reached its roof. Employing every acrobatic maneuver he had ever learned in his life, and a few he invented on the fly, Ranma made his way towards Nerima, and the mobile suits battling above it.

"Please God let me be in time!" He thought to himself furiously as he dashed towards his home.

"Please don't let me be too…late…" He trailed off and stopped his path towards Nerima as he stood on a particularly high building and watched with a sick feeling inside him as the Gundam with the wings, in an obvious last ditch effort to get the Earth suits off its trail, pulled a massive gun out and charged it up quickly, before firing a massive blast of pure white hot death that destroyed all in its path, including the other suits, one of which was quite close to the Gundam when it fired. It also destroyed a significant portion of Nerima, though from his vantage point Ranma couldn't tell which part. All he knew was that the feeling was growing inside of him, and that he needed to get to the Dojo, fast. As he dashed towards the Tendo Dojo, he saw more Earth mobile suits appear and do battle with the Gundam, destroying more of Nerima.

"Damn it!" Ranma cursed to himself angrily. He noted with some relief that the suits were now moving away from Nerima, though the path of destruction they had left made that seem rather pointless to think about. It was only upon actually reaching the district that Ranma realized the true extent of the damage. 

"Oh, dear God no…" From afar it hadn't seemed quite as bad, but looking at it up close, was like looking into the gates of Hell itself. Buildings were wrecked shells of their former selves, and others were gone entirely. Flames roared everywhere, and the streets seemed drowned in blood. Cursing, Ranma ran through the still burning streets of Nerima district. Turning a corner, he watched a man run screaming from the wreckage, an arm missing, and blood seeping out of his side. Another sight that greeted him as he made his way towards the Dojo was of a dead body. 

"No…" He whispered. It was a little girl, barely three by the looks of her. Her body had a horrible gash across the side, and it looked as if she had bled to death. A small stuffed rabbit was still clutched in her tiny hand. Shaking slightly, Ranma walked over to her, and gently picked up her body, clutching it to himself, he ran towards the Dojo, praying that everything was alright, but knowing that it wasn't. As he ran, he saw other bodies, some familiar. Yuka and Sayuri, Hiroshi and Daisuke, Kodachi, Gosunkugi, even a smoldering bag no doubt full of panties burned in the streets, leading one to believe that Happousai had died as well. Ranma didn't pause to mourn them though; he had to get to the Tendo Dojo, to his home.

"Please, please, please, please…oh…no…" He whispered as he finally reached the gates. It was gone; all gone, scorched and blackened by the flames, there was little left of it save the basic foundation and parts of the wall. The dojo was rubble. He collapsed to his knees, the little girl's body still in his arms. He didn't fight the tears, he barely noticed them. With a detached state of mind, he noted that the bodies of the Tendo's, his Father, and Mother, were probably virtually nonexistent. He did look over at the koi pond, or what was left of it however, and noted with a slight chill that a familiar bandanna was there, charred to a crisp but remarkably still recognizable, its tattered form caught on a jagged piece of wood, billowing in the light breeze. This seemed to bring the reality of it all crashing down upon him, and he wept, he wept tears of sorrow, anger, regret, and so much more. The pain in his heart and soul burned far worse than the slowly cooling flames that surrounded him. The feeling of helplessness and loss in him choked his throat far worse than the smoke drifting through the former Ward of Nerima. Sobbing, and clutching the little girl to himself, Ranma raised his bowed head, and screamed his fury to the heavens.

"Why…ARGHH!!!!!!…WHY!!!!!!!!!!" 

"WHY!!!!!!!" He bolted up, sweat dripping from his forehead. Shaking, he got out of bed and made his way over to the bathroom. He splashed some water in his face, and stared at the mess in the mirror that was his visage. His hair was everywhere, and his eyes had bags under them. Shaking his head, he made his way back to his bed, and tried to get some sleep. But rest was difficult to obtain, and for one who's soul was as troubled as his, it was downright impossible.

The mountains of China were as rustic as ever, with the clean air, bright blue sky, and gentle sounds of nature. But for one young man, they were simply another part of the living hell he had been thrust into since that fateful day. He sensed others ahead of him, but continued walking along the path he was on. The people he had sensed were a pair of women dressed in attire suited for combat, with breast plates equipped, and swords sheathed at their hips. He paid them no heed, and tried to walk by them. His head was, as always now, bowed, and his gaze was fixed upon the ground. The women took notice of him, and one spoke.

"Hey! Male! What are you doing here?" She barked in rapid Chinese. He did not reply, instead he continued to walk. This seemed to make the two angry, and they stepped in front of them.

"Where do you think you're going male! Answer me!" The one who had spoken before yelled in his face. He merely continued to stare at the ground.

"Stupid male! When your superior asks you something, you answer!" She roared as a vein appeared on her head. She reached for her sword, and prepared to make her point clear, when a gust of wind blew by her, and she found it missing. Her companion was also missing her sword. They turned to see the young man behind them, their swords held in his hands, still in their sheaths. 

"Argh! How dare you! I don't know how you did that, but I'll get answers out of you even if I have to beat you within an inch of your life!" The same woman yelled as she leapt at him with a kick, her partner following. The youth casually deflected her strike with a hand, and lightly shoved her into her companion's path. Cursing, the first girl attacked again, and he simply tossed the swords he held in her way, and then bent down and touched the ground with a single finger. The last thing the woman saw before passing out from the impact of a small explosion, was the young man's face, which was completely devoid of emotion whatsoever. 

"Who is he…?" Was her last thought as consciousness left her. 

The young man shook his head as he saw that the Bakusai Tenketsu had knocked both Amazons out cold. Turning from them, he continued on his way towards his destination. Soon, the valley of Jusenkyo loomed in front of him, and with grim purpose, he strode into it.

"It won't be long now…"

The guide was helpful enough, and soon, the young man was a whole man once again. Yet he felt no real joy over this fact. Yes it was nice to no longer have to worry about his curse, but at this point, what did it really matter? To be honest, the real reason he had come back to this cursed mountain range, was not to be cured, but instead, to train. He had to get his revenge, and to that end, he would train until he had become a hundred times stronger. Strong enough to destroy the ones who had taken his life away. With a simple nod to the guide and his daughter, he continued on towards the village of the Amazons.

The walk was short, and he soon found himself in the place where many of his troubles originated. The Amazon village had not changed much. In fact, the sight of it was somewhat saddening for him. It reminded him of happier times. Times of humor, and times of joy. Not now, now it was only blood and vengeance. He walked into the village, ignoring the stares of the people. No doubt they wondered who the mysterious man entering their village was. A few recognized his status as a fighter, and wondered how good he actually was. He was heading towards one home in particular. It didn't really stand out other than the fact that it was bigger than most of the houses. He walked up to the door, and knocked. He waited a few moments, and the door opened. 

"Yes, who is it?" A familiar voice asked as the door opened. His expression did not change in the slightest as the person came into view. Her eyes widened greatly.

"It can't be…" She whispered in awe.

"Hello Shampoo, is your Grandmother in?"

Cologne was used to a lot of sights. As a human being who had lived for several centuries, she had witnessed things that would boggle the mind of others. Yet, when she saw why Shampoo's cry of surprise had sounded so odd, she had to let her wizened eyes widen in disbelief. 

"It…cannot be…" She whispered. There was Ranma, the boy still looked roughly the same, and yet…

"Nerima was destroyed, the dojo was vaporized, how can you be standing here?" She asked in awe. His expression didn't change at all.

"Vengeance…that is how I can be standing here…" He said simply. His voice was so cold. It was as if the very essence of a soul had been swept away from him. 

"No…burned away…" She amended mentally, recalling the reports of how Nerima had been in flames for days. She, Shampoo, and Mousse had been taking care of some things in China at the time, and when they had heard the reports…Shampoo had wanted to return anyway, and search for survivors, but Cologne knew better, as did Mousse, and through pressure points, Shampoo was restrained until she could come to grips and deal with her grief in the correct manner. It was painful obviously, for all of them. Living in a place for years, especially one like Nerima, and then being told it was gone forever, it hurt, it hurt a lot. To never be able to go back, never see the familiar faces, hear the familiar sounds, and breathe the familiar air, it was difficult for even one as old as Cologne to keep a stoic face when the news spread of the destruction of that little Ward in Tokyo. Yet now, a ghost from the past had shown up, quite literally, on their doorstep. It boggled the mind that someone could survive that nightmare, but Cologne knew that if it were possible, then Ranma would do it. Because that was what made him who he was. Yet now, his aura was frigid, like the snow, and yet, fierce, powerful, like a raging blizzard. Truly, Cologne had never seen him so powerful, and she knew he was masking his true strength, as he always had. Standing before her was not the Ranma who got beaten up by Akane, matched by Ryoga, and tricked by Nabiki. Standing before her was the mighty, indomitable living embodiment of the martial arts, who had defeated a dragon, and slain a god with his bare hands. This was the true Ranma, and he was a fearsome sight indeed. 

"I need a place to train for a while Cologne. I need a skilled teacher who can help me become stronger. I came to you. Please, do not turn me away." He asked in a measured voice. She noted the subtle changes in his speech. Respect when he said her name, the absence of roughness in his tongue, and the utter lack of warmth present.

"Bah, of course I won't turn you away. You're practically family you know. Come in, we can discuss the matter in more detail over a meal." She turned to Shampoo, and the girl got the hint, moving to fetch their guest some food, a haunted, yet slightly hopeful look on her face. Cologne shook her head at that. Couldn't the girl see that any chance for romance with the pig-tailed youth had been shot down the instant Nerima was torched? She couldn't be that foolish could she? Ranma craved only one lover now, and that was the alluring mistress known as revenge. To think otherwise was to think the sky was not blue. 

In the weeks that followed, Ranma improved his skill to the point in which he could be easily labeled powerful enough to defeat Happousai, were he still living, with relative ease. Even Cologne could not spar with him at his full level anymore, as he would beat her with ruthless efficiency. He was so driven to improve his already vast skills, that his almost legendary learning curve increased even further, to the point in which he would understand even the most sophisticated techniques with only one demonstration in just one or two tries. All the while, Shampoo tried in vain to gain his affections. She was a bit more sedate about it naturally, as even she could see that he would not respond well to her usual routine of amorous prepositioning. Mousse, who had been shocked to see his old rival, actually seemed to get along decently with Ranma. Mainly because, when he first attacked him for trying to "steal" Shampoo, Ranma beat him with one blow, and then made it very clear that he had no interest in a relationship with anyone, by hoisting the blind boy up by the neck with one hand, and holding a flaming ball of ki beside his face to drive his argument home. Needless to say, even the thickheaded hidden weapons user got the point. So it was, that things fell into some semblance of a routine around the Amazon village. Shampoo, and eventually other young Amazons, would attempt to win the favor of the young warrior who trained relentlessly within their walls, said warrior would not pause in his regimen for anything save food and rest, and even then he would work himself to death beforehand. The various elders were in awe of the young man, and while they knew of the exploits of the legendary Ranma Saotome, nemesis of Happousai, rival of Prince Herb, and slayer of Saffron, they had no idea that all those stories were true and then some. Yet, seeing his level of skill, they knew it was fact. Ranma paid no heed to his surroundings for the most part. He had come to train; he would leave when he felt he had learned what he needed from this place, end of story. Then, a series of events occurred that changed everything for him once again.

It was not strange for Ranma to get up before most of the other villagers. In fact, with the exception of a few farmers and watchmen, he was the only one up at dawn. He would begin the new day by watching the sunrise and reflecting on his training and on life in general. He was never one for meditation, but that didn't mean he never thought about things deeply. In fact, he had spent many a time upon the roof of the Tendo home, watching the sky and pondering the meaning of his life, or lack thereof. At the thought of his old home, Ranma grew somber, and if one looked closely, they would see the beginnings of tears in his expressive, yet now frigid, eyes. 

"So many memories…" He whispered. He was shaken from his thoughts when a loud rumbling was heard. Blinking in confusion, he glanced up, and felt his jaw drop. Above the village, a mobile suit was hovering, firing its gun at an unknown assailant. Ranma recognized it as an OZ Leo, and winced as its arm was blown off. He then gasped as he realized said arm was falling at an incredible rate towards the village. Acting on instinct, he charged a tremendous amount of ki into his hands, and let loose with a blast of ki double the size of his old ones. The ki bolt lanced through the sky, and met the arm head-on. An explosion occurred, and when the smoke passed, Ranma noted that the arm had been virtually vaporized, though a few smaller bits did slip by, which he quickly obliterated with smaller shots of ki. By now, the noise had stirred the entire village into alert, and the Amazons had gotten to where he was just in time to watch him destroy the arm. As for the mobile suit overhead, upon losing an arm, it started to retreat, igniting its thrusters, it blasted in the direction of Jusenkyo. Soon, a second suit, this one a colonial Zaku mark II, followed, its single eye observing the village for a moment, before passing. Ranma could have sworn it stared right at him. 

"Those damn colonial bastards just can't leave me alone can they?" He thought with a fearsome scowl on his face. Without a word, he charged after the suits, not heeding Cologne's cry of warning. The old woman, seeing that the boy would not listen, sighed and shook her head.

"You fool, why be in such a rush to die?" She muttered. 

The suits had resumed combat a short distance away from the village, in the nearby forest. Ranma came upon the scene of the Zaku pumping the downed Leo with machine gun fire, and when it ran out of ammo, it pulled its Heat Hawk axe weapon from it's side, and raised it for the killing blow. With a resounding crunch, the cockpit of the Leo was no more, and the pilot within as well. Ranma snarled and ran to a tree. With a grunt, he ripped it from its roots, and hurled it at the Zaku, watching in satisfaction as it smashed into the thing's leg, causing the limb to buckle slightly. The Zaku's eye swept the area. 

"HEY! I'M RIGHT HERE ASSHOLE!" Ranma yelled. The pink eye came to a stop on him, and almost seemed to glare. He just glared right back. The Zaku slapped a fresh magazine of ammunition into its rifle, and aimed at Ranma. Ranma snorted, and charged a ki attack. 

"Sorry, not gonna happen!" He yelled as he fired it off. The ki energy lanced towards the weapon, and struck it hard, blowing over half of the gun apart, rendering it useless. The Zaku seemed to hesitate, the pilot obviously unsure of just what the hell he was facing. Ranma smiled cruelly.

"Gee, you look a little hesitant. What's the matter? Lost your nerve? Suddenly not so tough now that you don't have a big bad gun? Gee, how do you think all the people of Nerima felt when your kind murdered them in cold blood?" Ranma yelled angrily. The Zaku didn't respond, and instead, pulled its Heat Hawk out again, preparing to crush Ranma with it. It didn't work too well, for despite the thing's impressive speed for being so bulky, it was nothing to Ranma's blurred form. He dodged nimbly to the side as the axe struck the spot he was standing a moment ago. It made a deep indention, and before the pilot could raise it up again for a follow-through, Ranma had raced up the Zaku's massive arm, and began slamming his fists in the armored head. The resounding clangs echoed through the forest as Ranma's powerful blows made large dents in the side of the MS's head.

"Die bastard!" He yelled, almost crazed with the need for vengeance. The pilot, knowing his armor was taking a beating, raised his arm and tried to swat Ranma off. The pig-tailed martial artist simply dodged, leaping off the MS, and landing lightly in front of it. 

"Alright, the kid gloves are off…" Ranma muttered. Closing his eyes, he placed his hands near each other. Cupping them, he focused. All his anger, vengeance, sorrow, and hatred, coalesced into a flaming burst of energy, which he channeled into his hands. His eyes snapped open, and he whispered one word.

"Die…" The blast of ki that erupted from his hands, so potent was it, that when it hurtled towards the Zaku's cockpit, the pilot didn't even have time for a prayer, and when it struck, it not only blew through the cockpit hatch, but burst out the other end, blowing a hole the size of a mobile suit head through the Zaku, and continuing to travel, smashing through several trees, before it finally vaporized a massive tree, reducing it to dust.

Ranma just turned, walking away as the destroyed Zaku crashed to the ground. He could have sworn he heard the pilot's scream. For some reason, it made him shiver slightly.

When he returned to the Amazon village, the air was thick with tension. Indeed, it seemed that not a single person could stand still for long. Once within the gates, he was stopped by Cologne, who examined his body for injury. Finished, she turned to his unreadable face.

"What happened Ranma?" She asked simply. He shrugged.

"I blew the cockpit out. It was pretty easy actually." He said as if he were discussing the weather. Cologne blinked. It would require an enormous amount of ki to punch through a MS's armor. That fact that he had done so and still seemed to be strong and full of additional strength spoke highly of just how powerful the boy had become. When Cologne had first come to Nerima a few years ago, she had been astounded at the amount of powerful auras present within, but one had shined brighter than all others, and that, of course, belonged to Ranma. His aura had possessed so much untapped potential; it quite simply boggled the mind. At his young age, he could give her a challenge. To say that was uncanny would be an understatement. Shampoo had been the strongest fighter the Amazons had in her age group, yet Ranma, and to a lesser degree Ryoga, had made her look like an amateur by comparison. She had been eager, to say the least, to make Ranma an Amazon. And so yet another person sought the mighty young man for an heir.

"Ah, those were the days…" She thought, her mind wandering. She snapped to the present when she noticed Ranma walking away.

"I hope this isn't a sign of senility." She thought with a chuckle. She watched Ranma fend off a few Amazon suitors, and Shampoo as well, and make his way back to the house. Leaving the other young Amazon girls to glare at each other venomously.

"Some things never change." Cologne thought, a sad smile tugging at her mouth.

Night fell on the Bayankala Range, and as young Amazons, Musk and Phoenixes alike were tucked into bed, a solitary figure watched the sky from the roof of her house with a forlorn look upon her face.

"He's so different now, so cold…Why? Why is he so changed?" Shampoo asked herself. She knew that Ranma would be grief-stricken over the death of his family and friends. Anyone would, but his complete reversal in terms of personality was almost eerily frigid. 

"He's like some vengeful God of ice and revenge. Hell-bent on avenging his fallen loved ones." Shampoo sighed. She hated it. She hated the war; she hated the mobile suits, the uncaring leaders. She hated it all. But the biggest reason she hated them, was because they had taken her beloved from her. Yes he was with her physically, and she was thankful for that much, but for all intents and purposes, Ranma Saotome had died the day Nerima burned. 

"What are you doing out here Shampoo?" The cold voice chilled her like an icy wind, but she pasted a smile on her face and turned to her "husband", though she wondered if he could truly be called that anymore.

"Nothing Ranma, Shampoo just thinking, is all…" She despised her broken Japanese, and resolved to learn it fully someday. Ranma stepped out from the shadows, his new permanent poker face illuminated slightly by the moonlight.

"Aren't you cold?" He asked, no concern present really, just curiosity, but she could pretend…

"Oh, no, Shampoo is no cold, actually, is quite nice out." She replied, watching his face carefully. He seemed to accept her explanation, and turned to regard the stars with her.

"A beautiful night huh?" He whispered almost to himself. She nodded.

"Yes, is lovely." She glanced up at the stars with him, watching them silently.

"When I was little, I would watch them, and think about my Mother…" He was still whispering, but she heard.

"Is same for Shampoo. She miss Mother very much." She said, a trace of old pain lingering.

"Now…now I think about everyone…" His voice was so low, and contained so much sorrow, she barely heard, but it made her heart sink regardless.

"I…so sorry Ranma…" She whispered, bowing her head slightly. He sighed and nodded.

"I'm sorry too Shampoo, I didn't mean to come out here and depress you. I'll leave you alone now…" He turned to go.

"Wait!" She cried softly. He blinked at her in confusion.

"What is it?" He asked. She sighed.

"Shampoo need know…did Ranma…Did Ranma ever feel…for Shampoo?" She asked, cursing the language barrier between them once again. She gaped however, as he smiled slightly, just enough to notice, and an odd light shone in his eyes.

"Shampoo, I would give anything to have things the way they were back then…And that includes you…" With that said, he left, making nary a sound to mark his departure, but leaving a softly smiling girl behind anyway.

"Ranma…maybe you're alive after all…"

The next day, Ranma awoke later than normal. He frowned at this. It wouldn't do to become lax in his training now. He decided he would make up for it by training twice as hard today. Later, after getting dressed and ready, he was out by a stream in the forest, practicing a more basic kata as a sort of winding down from a more intense earlier workout. He was startled when he heard a twig snap nearby. Instantly he slid into a ready stance, pausing his kata in mid strike and waiting for his unseen assailant to show themselves. He reached out wit his senses, trying to ascertain who it was. His eyes snapped open and he relaxed.

"Come out Shampoo, it's too nice of a day to be hiding in the bushes…" He didn't bother to face her as she rose from her hiding spot, instead choosing to clean his slightly dirty face with some water from the stream.  

"So, what do you need Shampoo?" He asked, wiping a particularly stubborn smudge of dirt.

"Oh nothing, Shampoo just wondering if Ranma want practice with her…" She had an odd quality to her voice. It reminded him of the times she used to try to come off as sexy and alluring back in Nerima, but it didn't seem as forced. He turned to her at last, and noted that she had brought a blanket and basket with her. 

"Hungry?" She asked, and began to set up a picnic of sorts without waiting for an answer. He shrugged indifferently. He was, truth be told, quite hungry, but he didn't really want to risk eating passion spice or something. He was pretty sure she was beyond that type of behavior now, but no one could fault him for being wary. Soon the food was laid out, and Ranma was devouring it with his usual method of shoving it down his throat without giving the taste buds much of a chance to identify the substance. Shampoo smiled at the fact that at least this facet of Ranma was still present.

"Wow, that was good, thank you Shampoo." He said honestly. He then realized something.

"She didn't try to slip anything weird into the food! That is amazing." He thought. Shampoo smiled happily.

"Is glad you like it Ranma." She said. As he watched her sitting there, Ranma came to a startling realization.

"She really is beautiful…" He thought to himself. As if entranced, he allowed her to lean closer to him, until their breathing was mingled.

"Sh-shampoo…" He whispered. She said nothing, surging forward and kissing him. Ranma struggled for a moment, his mind at war with his body. He felt like he was betraying Akane by doing this, but at the same time, a part of him felt the loneliness he had felt since that day, and wanted to be rid of it, if only for a little while. So with the drive of a man drowning in pain in search of a beacon to light his way out of it, he kissed her back.

"Forgive me Akane…" Was his last thought before he succumbed…

It was quite a while before they finally began to head back towards the village, walking rather close to each other no less, smiles on both their faces. That's when they saw the smoke…

"Ranma! That Amazon village!" Shampoo cried fearfully, before dashing towards it. Ranma cursed and took off after her.

"Shampoo! Wait!" She didn't hear him or just didn't care. He gasped as he saw something else as they got closer to the village.

"Mobile Suits…" He whispered to himself. There were two normal colonial Zaku's, plus a more powerful-looking one painted blood red…

"Who the hell is that?" Was his thought as he ran towards the village gates. He could hear people yelling from within. 

"Why has this happened to us?" One voice cried. That caused Ranma to gasp.

"No! By killing that Zaku pilot, I must have led them to this place!" He could feel the familiar weight of guilt slam down onto his heart with even greater force then ever before.

"I…I've doomed an entire tribe to death…" He felt the depression building, and bowed his head. It snapped up as he heard a voice come from the red Zaku.

"You refused to tell us why our comrade is dead, and you have paid the price…Never anger the Colonial Forces of almighty Zeon!" The voice was eloquent yet distinctly cold and cruel sounding. It chilled Ranma's blood.

"Damn it! Why didn't they turn me in?" He thought angrily. He watched as the two green Zaku's opened fire on running people. He watched as a woman carrying her baby was cut down by machine gun fire and fell, smashing her baby's body upon the ground with a sickening crunch. He saw the few matriarchs still alive attempting to destroy the mobile suits with ki attacks, but they were killed before they could prepare the energy. He then saw Cologne rushing towards him.

"Ranma! We must leave now!" She grabbed his arm from atop her cane.

"What the hell are you saying! We have to help them!" He indicated the dying villagers.

"Are we just going to abandon them!" He screamed over the gunfire.

"STUPID BOY! Will you really make our village's sacrifice be in vain? You need to live Ranma! Live and gain your revenge upon them!" He scowled at her words, broke free from her grip, and ran towards the suits.

"Stupid boy…" Cologne muttered sadly. 

"I don't care what the old woman says! I'll kill these three with my bare hands! Just like the last one!" That said, Ranma leapt atop a house that was still standing and not on fire, and charged a ki blast in his hands.

"ARHGG!!" He roared, shooting the collected energy at one of the green Zaku's. It was struck in the chest, and though it didn't create a hole like last time, the blast did knock it off its feet. Ranma prepared another.

"I'll destroy you all!" He yelled, the bloodlust starting to get to him. He wanted to crush these colonial bastards. He could just imagine that Gundam's face imprinted over their own. His rage and hatred grew…

"I won't let you leave here alive…" He whispered. This time, the blast caved in the cockpit, killing the pilot instantly. The other two Zaku turned to this new threat, and the red one trained its gun on him.

"And who might you be boy!" The pilot asked.

"I'm Ranma Saotome! And I'm not going to rest until every single Zeon is a rotting corpse under my feet!" He yelled hatefully. He could almost sense the pilot smirking.

"Quite a vow! But tell me…How do you expect to do something like that with your bare hands? Without even a mobile suit to fight with?" He asked. Ranma almost smiled.

"Like this!" He cried, firing another ki blast made up of depression and hatred. The blast blew the head of the other green Zaku clean off. It tumbled to the ground and lay there.

"Impressive. I don't know how you did that, but it was impressive nonetheless. But I'm afraid that I can't allow you to live. Goodbye Ranma Saotome." With that said, the red Zaku opened fire on Ranma. He leapt off the house, and cursed as the gunfire struck the building, causing a large piece of it to come hurtling towards someone he saw out of the corner of his eye. Turning to shout a warning, he paled as he saw who it was. She had long purple hair.

"Shampoo! No!!!!!!!!!!"

Once again he awoke gasping for breath. Panting, he clenched his fists.

"Damn it all…Damn me and my weakness…My stupidity…" He fought it, he really did. But one tear did escape and he watched it shatter upon the ground.

"Everyone…who gets close to me…suffers…" He bowed his head sadly. He could still hear the screams…

Author's Notes: Yes it was depressing, but I wanted to show how Ranma became the way he is now. Though this isn't the end of his past experiences. No sir. Anyway, just so you know, Shampoo isn't dead. I'll go into what happened to her soon enough…And as for what she and Ranma did by the stream…well…let's just say that they weren't holding hands (cough cough)…Take that as you will. Oh, and I'd just like to take this opportunity to apologize to various people who have sent me e-mail and haven't received replies. My hotmail account is acting screwy, and I'm trying to sort it out, but at the moment I am incapable of sending out e-mail for some reason. So you have my sincerest apologies for that. It seems that with hotmail, you get what you pay for…which is to say, nothing and nothing. And uh, sorry for taking so long with this and other fics. I've been sick lately, and writer's block + school is no fun. Anyway, happy holidays, and stay tuned for some action in the next chapter, as Ranma must confront a new Gundam, but why the heck is the pilot claiming to be a Federation member? Let's just say that it isn't one of the Wing boys. And yes the pilot of the red Zaku was Char Aznable. Thank you and goodnight…


	4. "Irony on the Battlefield"

Disclaimer: This fic could potentially waste your time… be warned that if you choose to read, the next little chunk of your life will belong to me! Suffer!!! Oh yeah, I don't own Mr. Saotome and friends, Ms. Misumaru and her crew, or Mr. Yuy and his comrades. Thank you.

R.5 and Gundam/Nadesico

Fallen Star

Chapter 4: "Irony on the Battlefield"

By Gray

"I do not believe how little sleep I got last night…" Ranma muttered darkly as he finished his morning shower and walked into his main room to find some clothing. The dreams of the past seemed to mock him each and every night. His inability to make a difference in those days fueled his anger and depression on a level that Ryoga could never dream of…The fact that he was inadvertently responsible for the Amazon village burning to the ground made his heart even heavier with guilt, and not to mention Shampoo getting… A knocking was heard, and Ranma sighed.

"Just a minute, I'll be right there." He yelled, quickly scooping up some boxer shorts and preparing to put them on.

"Oh that's okay! As the Captain, I have the key to every room!" The cheerful voice of Yurika chirped as Ranma's door slid open with a metallic hiss. Slowly, he turned his head and saw his Captain standing in his doorway, with an interesting expression on her face. First she turned pink, then red, then almost purple, and her mouth had decided to let her jaw fall for a while, as it hung loosely. Ranma's first knee-jerk reaction was to tense in fear of a beating, but he relaxed when he recalled that this particular facet of his life was…gone, to put it bluntly. So, he turned to cynicism and arrogance. Old friends.

"Y'know Captain, your face is going to stay like that if you don't do something." He commented dryly, securing his towel around his waist tightly so as to avoid a rather embarrassing incident of indecent exposure.

"I, um, uh, that is…" Yurika was having trouble getting her brain working, which Ranma found rather humorous, though the way she was staring at him made him a bit embarrassed. He found himself blushing ever so slightly, and he cursed himself for his weakness. Yurika finally seemed to recover, and hastily turned away from the, in her opinion, very nice view.

"Um, sorry…" She muttered. Ranma shrugged.

"It's okay, you wouldn't believe how many times it's happened to me before." He said as he slipped his boxers on while her eyes were averted. He then found some pants and a tank top. After dressing, he turned to Yurika.

"Okay, you can look now." He said. Yurika sighed in relief and turned around. Naturally, the sight of Ranma in a tank top was also quite nice, as the white undershirt clung to his muscled upper body like it was painted on. Still, she managed to compose herself and recalled why she had come in the first place.

"You're needed on the bridge." She explained. Ranma blinked.

"And you came to tell me personally?" He smiled slightly, a knowing look in his eyes. Yurika flushed in embarrassment.

"Well, um, as the Captain, it is my duty to form close ties with my crew and…" She trailed off as he started to laugh lightly.

"Uh huh, what kind of "close ties" Captain?" He asked with a smirk. Yurika really wished her capillaries would give it a rest, but such was not to be. What happened to Ranma's pessimistic loner attitude?

"Alright, I'm sorry, I'll be right there, I just need to finish getting dressed." He decided to let the woman off the hook. Making her uncomfortable was stupid, and besides, he was acting strange…Too much like his old self. For some reason, Yurika seemed to bring that out in him. He watched her nod and quickly leave, her face still red. Chuckling, he resumed getting dressed. Still, he wondered what it was about the bubbly Captain that made him feel so…normal.

"Must be her "natural charm"…" He thought sarcastically.

"Pilot Saotome, reporting as ordered." Ranma said with a half-hearted salute to the assembled superior officers as he entered the bridge. The Nadesico's bridge was as well designed and technologically advanced as the rest of the ship. With a full command platform with multiple levels and stations for each member of the bridge crew, and a large viewing screen built into the floor of the deck below the command platform for briefings. Naturally, Ranma could have cared less about any of this. Waiting for him, were of course Yurika, Mr. Hoary, Mr. Prospector, Admiral Munetake, Minato, who was "driving" the ship at the moment, Ruri Hoshino, who was staring at him oddly. And Megumi, the ship's Communications Officer.

"At ease Pilot." Mr. Hoary said after returning the salute. Ranma nodded and relaxed, even going so far as to lean against the wall, which annoyed Mr. Hoary and especially Admiral Munetake.

"Have respect boy!" The ill-tempered Federation liaison yelled angrily. Ranma smirked.

"He said at ease, so I'm at ease…old man." His smirk widened and everyone winced.

"HOW DARE YOU!!!" Munetake screamed, almost foaming at the mouth with anger. Ranma turned to Yurika.

"So, what's the problem Captain…?" He asked. Munetake was left to sputter in outrage. Yurika's eyes became serious.

"We've received reports, that a potential enemy has been sighted in a forest near our current position…" She wasn't looking forward to saying this part.

"The enemy is…probably…a…Gundam…" She winced as Ranma's eyes grew that familiar steely look. Everyone on the bridge mirrored her reaction. 

"When do we get there…?" Ranma asked, managing to keep his voice neutral.

"In about half-an-hour Saotome…So get ready for possible combat." Hoary warned. Ranma nodded and turned to leave.

"You haven't been dismissed yet Pilot." Hoary said angrily. Ranma shrugged and turned to face him once more.

"Permission to be allowed to do what you told me to do…sir." One could practically see the sarcasm in Ranma's tone. Hoary bristled, but kept himself in control. Minato was watching after all…

"Permission granted." He finally said. Ranma smirked and left. 

"The nerve of that…that…kid!" Munetake yelled. Yurika and Minato both watched Ranma leave with worry in their gazes. 

"I'll have him court-martialed so help me!" Munetake ranted. Everyone ignored him, though some wished they could just throw him overboard and be done with it. Why did a privately owned battleship even need a Federation Liaison?

_"Hmm…Will it be the same one? Or a new one? I wonder…"_ Ranma thought as he entered his room and grabbed his pilot's uniform. He knew of five Gundams at the moment. There was the winged one he had sworn vengeance upon, a black one with a scythe, a heavily-armed one with a chaingun for an appendage, a desert combat model that relied on a pair of wicked scimitars, and a ferocious dragon style one with an extending arm and a beam spear. He had carefully studied the reports on all of them and was convinced he knew their attack styles pretty well.

_"Every little edge helps…" _He thought. It didn't matter if it was martial arts, MS fighting, or anything else. The first rule of any sort of competition was to know your enemy. Once you did that, half the battle was over.

"And this is the most important "competition" of all…" He muttered as he finished putting his blue piloting uniform on. It was a bit snug, and a little too silly looking in his eyes, but he figured he might as well wear it. He turned to exit his room. Only to encounter an unfamiliar face right outside.

_"Hmmm, purple hair…"_ He thought. The young woman in front of him did indeed have purple-hued hair, and her freckled face, big eyes, and small build could be called "cute" and even attractive.

"Oh! I…I'm so sorry!" She said, embarrassed at having seen him in such…tight-fitting attire. She found her eyes roving his frame, and hastily snapped them back to his face to avoid further embarrassment. Ranma blinked cluelessly at her behavior.

"Something wrong?" He asked. The girl shook her head furiously.

"No! I mean…uh, no of course not." She laughed nervously. Ranma shrugged.

"Okay, if you're sure…" He trailed off uncomfortably.

"Um…you're on the bridge right?" He was pretty sure he had seen her earlier.

"Yes! Communications Officer Megumi Rainard!" She saluted, though it was a bit off. Ranma actually smiled faintly.

"No no…It's like this…" He showed her the correct method of saluting; the well-practiced manner in which he did so, signified that he had done it many times. Megumi blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh…sorry." She said quietly. Ranma shrugged again.

"It's no big deal…not that important." He tilted his head.

"I'm Ranma Saotome by the way." He introduced himself. Megumi nodded.

"Yes, I know. Everyone's been talking about you lately." She herself certainly had…

"Really? Why's that?" He didn't know why the heck anyone would want to talk about him.

"Well…It's because you single-handedly destroyed a squad of enemy Zaku's, and fought off a fully-armed Gundam, without any sort of weaponry whatsoever…" She smiled at him shyly. Ranma rubbed the back of his head slightly.

"Yeah…well…I just did what had to be done." He explained. 

"Oh…" Megumi felt another uncomfortable silence descend. One that was broken by a video-screen opening in front of them. Yurika's face appeared, smiling as always. But when she saw Ranma and Megumi together, the smile fell slightly.

"You're needed in the hangar Ranma. And um…You need to get back to the bridge now Megumi…" Yurika said, before her image winked out of existence. Ranma sighed.

"There's my cue…" He turned to leave. Megumi's face fell.

"Oh!" He turned back to face her for a moment.

"It was nice talking to you Megumi!" He said. Megumi's smile returned, and it remained as she walked back to the bridge.

_"Maybe he's the one!"_

"Pilot Saotome reporting for duty…" Ranma droned in monotone upon his arrival to the bridge. The chief mechanic, Seiya Uribitake, nodded at him.

"Hmmf…Listen up kid!" The tech yelled, his voice carrying a note of hysteria.

"If you so much as scratch my Aestivalis this time…you and I will have words…!" The man calmed slightly, adjusting his glasses in the process.

"I've added a beam saber and a machine gun to your armaments, in addition to the standard vibrating dagger that is housed in the hip chamber…be sure to make use of all three weapons…" His eyes grew maniacal.

"Or else it would be a tremendous waste of my talent!" He cried. Ranma nodded uneasily and quickly scrambled away when the technician started to laugh to himself. 

"Hoo boy…call the guys in white…we got us a bona-fide screwball for a chief mechanic…guess he fits right in here." He muttered as he shook his head.

_"Maybe I should've signed up for another ship…"_ He thought as he walked towards his Aestivalis. The black gleam of its ebony armor shined in the artificial light of the hangar. Ranma stared into its cold eyes for a moment.

"You and me…We're gonna kick some Gundam ass this time…" 

"Is the pilot ready?" Yurika asked, her professional manner coming out once more, now that actual combat was imminent. Megumi turned her head up to the Captain and nodded.

"Yes Captain. Pilot Saotome has been verified for launch and is awaiting clearance…" She listened in on her headset, and giggled slightly at what she heard Ranma say.

"And he's growing impatient!" She smiled. Yurika nodded.

"Well then, let's not keep him waiting…" She paused.

"Launch Aestivalis!!!"

"Finally…" Ranma muttered as he blasted out of the hangar and made use of the air-combat armor to hover near the Nadesico. A video-screen appeared in front of him depicting Yurika's face.

"What's up Captain?" He asked.

"Reports indicate that the Gundam was sighted in this area…so be extra careful." She warned. Ranma nodded.

"Roger that…" He said. He peered out at the wide stretch of forest beneath them.

"The trees would conceal it if it's down there…" He muttered.

"I'm gonna go and pay our friend a visit…" He declared, dropping altitude by disengaging the air-combat parts, reverting the Aestivalis to its original land engagement frame.

"Be careful Ranma." Yurika said quietly. Ranma smirked, though it was a bit dark.

"Leave it to me Yurika…I'll bring the thing's head back on a plate…though there won't be much else left of it once I'm through…" The sea of trees rushed up to meet him and Ranma had only one thought.

"I won't lose this time…" 

"Huh?" A young man uttered as he sat in the cockpit of his mobile suit. His hair was an orangish-red, and his eyes were oddly innocent for a mobile suit pilot. His radar had just picked up something, but now it was gone. The new suit was incredibly strong, and had excellent maneuverability, but in a forest such as this, visibility was pretty bad. But the purpose of him being out here was to determine whether or not the suit functioned properly. Now he could have sworn his sensors had picked up something nearby. But it was probably just his imagination.

"Guess I'd better head back to base…I'm getting bored of this…sure hope Frau kept the kids under control…" Then he heard a noise, and carefully raised his beam rifle.

"What was that…an enemy?"

"I'm picking up something…but it's faint…" Ranma muttered. He stopped his Aestivalis for a moment.

"Wait! It's moving…" He turned the head of the Aestivalis towards the right.

"Over there…?" He started moving again.

"The reading is getting stronger…It's gotta be…SHIT!!!"

"RANMA! What's wrong!?" Yurika yelled. She turned to Megumi.

"Why isn't he answering?" She asked almost hysterically. Megumi frantically typed commands.

"There's some kind of interference! It's the only explanation!" She looked worriedly at the blank screen in front of the bridge.

"Please be alright Ranma…" 

"SHIT!!!" Ranma frantically dodged blasts of highly potent energy as he back-pedaled away from the crazy bastard firing at him. Trees were smashed to pieces as the heavy Aestivalis crushed them in its bid for escape.

"Running away won't do anything…" He muttered. There seemed to be some sort of radar interference in the area, so contacting the Nadesico was useless. He was on his own. All alone…always alone…

"I won't run away!" His nano-tattoo blazed as he suddenly engaged the forward thrusters, blasting towards the source of the beam shots at high speed. He was hit by a few, but it was glancing damage, leaving only small "wounds" in the Aestivalis' thick armor. His eyes blazed with fury, and finally he reached the target. 

"There you are!" He roared. It was indeed a Gundam. But it looked less…sleek to put it simply. It was actually a bit clunky-looking, but it was equipped with a beam rifle, and a large red shield, and was therefore, quite dangerous. Beam rifles were nothing to sneeze at. They made conventional bullet using guns look pathetic in comparison. Though, this one was nothing compared to the massive weapon the winged Gundam used. Ranma ignored all this however. It was a Gundam…It had to die. It was as simple as that. He raised his machine gun and opened fire. The rounds pounded into the enemy's large shield, which the pilot had raised in the nick of the time. The high-impact rounds dented and chipped away at the shield, but did little damage otherwise. Cursing, Ranma dropped the gun and drew his beam saber. The blade blazed into existence as the circuit contained in the handle interfaced with the hand of the Aestivalis. The sword glowed an angry red, seeming to mirror the color of blood. Ranma leapt, his MS twisting in mid-air, and chopped downwards. The shield got in his way once again, but the power of the beam saber, combined with the momentum of gravity, proved too much, and the shield was sheared in half. Stepping back, Ranma smirked.

"How do you like that?" He asked. The enemy pilot naturally didn't respond, and instead drew two beam sabers from its back. The weapons were a pinkish hue, and the pilot held them in front of him defensively. Ranma charged forward.

"That isn't going to work!" He slashed from the side, and was blocked, though just barely. He grinned. This pilot must be a rookie…

"Too bad I don't go easy on rookies…" Ranma muttered, conveniently forgetting the fact that he himself was pretty green…The enemy swung his sabers and Ranma blocked both of them, though he grit his teeth as the strength of the Gundam was pretty impressive. 

"That…the best…you got?" He muttered. Breaking the grapple, he quickly stepped to the side, and then brought his saber around, narrowly missing gouging the enemy suit, as the pilot managed to dodge at the last moment. Now Ranma was getting frustrated. The two charged and their blades of light clashed again and again. Cutting through trees, disturbing animals, and causing small bursts of light. Ranma had had enough.

"Eat this!" He charged forward, ducking at the last moment so as to avoid the stab from one saber, and blocking the other sword with his own. He then shot upwards while his foe was off balance. His fist lashed out, smashing into the chin of the Gundam in a crude uppercut. The sheer power of the blow caused the Gundam to shoot upwards slightly, and the pilot suddenly ignited his thrusters, using the momentum to gain even more altitude, and breaking out of the trees in the process. Ranma smiled darkly and followed.

"You're not getting away that easily…!"

Enemy mobile suit approaching Captain." Ruri informed in monotone. Yurika and everyone else watched as a Gundam broke free of the trees, shooting upwards, and passing the Nadesico's low altitude.

"Where's Ranma?" Yurika asked. As if to answer her, Ranma's Aestivalis followed the Gundam, blasting upwards, beam saber held at the ready.

"Re-establishing communication…" Megumi said. Ranma's face appeared in front of them.

"He's mine!" Ranma yelled. 

"Ranma! Are you alright?" Yurika asked worriedly. Ranma nodded absently.

"Fine! But I'll be even better once I ram this sword up that jerk's…" He trailed off as he neared the enemy suit. His beam saber shot out, intending to impale the suit. The Gundam however, blocked once more, holding its swords in an "x."

"Damn it!" Ranma yelled. Then, the two suit's thrust gave out, as the land engagement models were ill suited for air combat. An idea came to Ranma.

"It's my best bet…" He reached up and grabbed the Gundam by the shoulder. Then, he twisted his own mobile suit, and managed to flip the two, so that the Gundam would hit the ground on its back instead of its shock-absorbing legs.

"It's over…" He whispered. The two suits fell at high speeds, both caught in gravity's cruel grip. 

"Ranma!" Yurika cried worriedly. The impact of the two suits hitting the ground was deafening in its volume. Birds flew out of the forest in droves. When the dust finally cleared, the crew of the Nadesico peered anxiously at the impact zone. Finally, a disturbance grew in the trees. The black Aestivalis erupted into the air, carrying the Gundam in its arms. Ranma's triumphant face appeared on the view screen.

"Mission accomplished…the enemy pilot is unconscious. I'm bringing him and his Gundam in…over and out…"

"Careful! I said careful damn it! Who knows what kind of booby traps the Zeon put on these things!" Seiya yelled at his crew as they restrained the Gundam properly and then set about opening the hatch to get to the pilot. 

"And…done! It's open sir!" One tech yelled. Standing near the Gundam were Yurika, Mr. Hoary, Minato, Megumi, Mr. Prospector, Admiral Munetake, Seiya, Ruri, Dr. Tofu, Dr. Fresange, and of course Ranma himself. The hatch slowly slid open. Everyone peered into the cockpit cautiously. 

"It's…a kid?" The tech muttered. The young man in question was in his late teens by the looks of him, and was dressed in, of all things, a Federation pilot's uniform. 

"What the hell…?" Ranma muttered, unconsciously mirroring everyone else's thoughts.

"Hmm…" Tofu muttered as he looked the boy over.

"His injuries are minor, he's just unconscious…" The Doctor informed everyone as he absently read over a few test results. 

 "He's coming around…" Ranma said. The young man slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the bright light of the medical room. He curiously peered at everyone, but relaxed when he saw Admiral Munetake's Federation Uniform. He weakly saluted.

"Federation pilot Amuro Ray at your service…"

Author's Notes: Thought I'd end it here. Let me know what you think…and I apologize for taking so long…my writing skills are paltry, and at times I experience a whole lot of writer's block…anyway, all comments and criticisms can be sent to the usual place: grayson_san@hotmail.com 

I might revise this a little bit later on, but for now, this is it…


	5. "A Brief Reprieve"

Disclaimer: Bandai and Sunrise own Gundam I believe. While Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma, and our Nadesico friends are the property of Kia Asamiya and his affiliates.

Ranma 1/2 and Gundam/Wing/Nadesico

Fallen Star

Chapter 5: "A Brief Reprieve"

By Gray

"So…You're a Federation Test Pilot…" Mr. Prospector stated while rubbing his chin in thought.

"And what exactly were you doing piloting a Gundam?" He asked. Amuro sighed wearily.

"I might as well tell you. If an Admiral is here, then I suppose you can all be trusted." He took a deep breath.

"The simple fact of the matter is…the Federation Mobile Suits are pathetic compared to Zeon. Their Zaku II's, Gouf's, Gelgoog Marines, and of course, the Gundams, are far superior to our own Leo's, and Aries…" He was interrupted by Ranma snorting contemptuously.

"That doesn't matter. The suit is just a tool. It's the pilot's own skill that determines victory." He stated evenly. Amuro glared at him.

"Oh really? Do you think you could defeat a Gundam in a Leo then?" He asked sarcastically. Ranma growled.

"Big talk from the guy whose ass I just kicked!" He yelled. Amuro growled right back.

"So you're the psycho I fought! What the hell were you thinking! We're on the same side you idiot!" He yelled. 

"Well excuse me for thinking a Gundam was the enemy. Last time I checked, we were at war with the goddamn things!" Ranma was already not liking this guy. 

"Yes, we are at war with them, but not with each other, so let's all try to calm down." Yurika said sternly. Ranma grumbled but did so, as did Amuro.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" He glared at Ranma.

"The Federation suits just cannot compare to Zeon's. So…in order to balance the odds a little…the Federation began researching mobile suits. Naturally, the Gundams were by far the most powerful, so the Federation figured, why not make its own Gundams? To that end, the RX-78 prototype was created. And, through a bit of a twist of fate I guess you could say…I became its pilot. We're still testing it however, though I do find it odd that Federation members wouldn't know of it…" He frowned in puzzlement. Yurika rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Um…actually, we're not a part of the Earth Federation exactly…we're a privately owned battleship, that takes orders from Nergal Heavy Industries…though our purpose is to defeat the Zeon…" She said. Amuro blinked.

"Well…then what about the Admiral here." He pointed to Munetake. The older man coughed.

"Ahem well…I did know about the RX-78…" He started.

"Then why the hell didn't you tell us old man? I could have killed this guy here!" Ranma asked angrily. Amuro frowned but said nothing. He had lost after all…

"Because it was classified…boy." Munetake said levelly, for once maintaining his cool. Ranma's fists clenched and he grit his teeth.

"I'm getting real sick and tired of your bullshit old man! The next time you keep something that important from me…Admiral or not…you'll pay dearly…" He said in a low voice. 

"Is that a threat, pilot?" Munetake asked. Ranma's eyes narrowed.

"No… Admiral…It's a promise…" The two stared at each other for a few moments more, before Ranma finally turned away.

"I'm outta here…Let me know when we encounter another enemy…" He disappeared out the door, and everyone watched it slide shut with a hiss. After several moments, Mr. Hoary broke the silence.

"Exactly where were you stationed Pilot Ray?" He asked. Amuro snapped out of his daze from watching Ranma face off against the Admiral.

"Ah…The White Base sir…It's a battleship." He explained. Hoary nodded.

"Megumi." Yurika turned to the Comm. Officer. 

"Get in touch with the White Base tomorrow and let them know that we have their pilot and his Gundam here. Please apologize for the unprovoked attack as well." She ordered. Megumi nodded in understanding. Yurika turned back to Amuro.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like. Make yourself at home." She offered, turning to go back to the bridge. Everyone else filed out as well, and Amuro was left alone. His thoughts turned back to Ranma.

_"That guy…Who is he? He's something else." _He remembered how the pilot of the black mobile suit had fought like a man possessed. Even a skilled pilot like Amuro, in a powerful suit like the RX-78 stood no chance against him.

"Hmmm…I wonder…" 

"Stupid bastard…I have half a mind to…" Ranma muttered as he walked into his room. Closing the door behind him, he wearily entered the bathroom and stripped off the stupid blue pilot's uniform. Stepping into the shower, he closed his eyes and let the soothing hot water ease his frayed nerves. It wasn't just the fact that Munetake pissed him off. No, it was much more then that. Simply put, Ranma felt guilty. He had blindly attacked a perceived enemy and the "enemy" turned out to be an ally. To say he felt stupid would be an understatement. It wasn't his fault of course; everyone aboard the Nadesico except for the Admiral had thought it to be an enemy. It was a Gundam after all! But, it seemed old habits die hard… He had meant to apologize to Amuro, and instead, he went and got into a yelling contest with the guy. The disappointment over not being able to fight an enemy Gundam added to his overall feeling of frustration. Today had not been a good day for Ranma, that was for sure. Sighing, he shut off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel on his way. He dried his body mechanically, and after dressing in a red Chinese shirt, and black pants, he came to the dilemma of deciding what to do now. Then his stomach growled, and the problem became a moot issue. He was hungry; hence, it was time to grab some food. The mess hall it was. Nodding, Ranma stood up, slipped on some shoes, and exited his room.

The cafeteria was noisy and raucous, which was a given, as it was dinnertime, and the various members of the crew were eating and chatting, mostly about the day's events. When Ranma walked in, he noticed some people eyeing him. There was fear in those eyes, and a little bit of awe of course. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not, but had started get used to it as of late. He noticed Megumi and Minato sharing a table. Well, he wouldn't have noticed it, but Minato was waving him over. Shrugging, he got his food, and made his way to the table. Sitting, he set his tray down lightly, and stared at the two women.

"Yes?" He asked. Megumi had yet to meet his eyes, and was looking at the ground nervously. Minato however, had no problem.

"Hey, it's been a while since we talked, so I figured, why not have dinner together." She smiled and delicately ate her food. Tonight's menu was an odd dish called "lasagna." It seemed that Ms. Howmei, the ship's head chef, was trying out different things lately. Ranma found that it tasted good enough, and had no complaints, even though it required a fork instead of chopsticks. 

"So…I never got a chance to ask you…but…where are you from exactly?" Minato asked curiously. Ranma's face grew steely.

"Nerima…" He muttered. Minato's eyes widened, as did Megumi's. 

"Oh! I…I'm so sorry." She whispered. Ranma shrugged.

"Forget it." He said, taking a moment to chew his food for once.

"It's…in the past." 

"So the test data is in?" Munetake asked. He was sitting in his dimly lit office, a communicator in front of him.

"Yes. The two subjects did remarkably well…particularly the Nergal pilot. His skill is very impressive." The voice on the other end was stern and unforgiving. It was the voice of a man who had spent his entire life in the military, but had never gained anything from it except a zeal to be the best, and have the best under him. 

"But…forgive me sir, but isn't having our pilots fight one another dangerous? I mean, Saotome could have killed Ray! That kid is out of control!" Munetake warned. The voice paused.

"It is not your concern Admiral…Saotome is exactly the sort of pilot we're looking for. However, I think it would be best to continue monitoring him for the time being…Keep up the good work." The voice flickered out, and Munetake was left alone in his room.

"Very well then…" Munetake was an ambitious man. A very ambitious man. If Saotome was his ticket to the top…well, he would use him until the boy was dead if need be.

"So be it." He whispered darkly.

"Now…where was it again?" Amuro muttered to himself as he wandered down the halls of the Nadesico. Why was the ship so damn big? The White Base was half the size of the Nadesico…

"You lookin' for something?" A voice asked from behind him. Whirling around, Amuro came face to face with Ranma, who regarded him levelly.

"I…um…" Amuro stuttered. This guy was quiet! Was he even human?

"Looking for some food?" Ranma guessed. Amuro nodded slowly. Ranma pointed in the direction he had just come from.

"The mess hall's that way. Take a right at the intersection, ya can't miss it." He directed. Amuro blinked and nodded, heading in the indicated direction. Ranma continued on his way. Only to bump into Yurika of all people.

"Oh Ranma! How are you? Feeling better I hope." She said quickly. Ranma shrugged.

"I'm fine Captain." He lied. Yurika smiled.

"Glad to hear it! But you know…" She twiddled her thumbs.

"You can call me Yurika…" She said slowly. Ranma smiled faintly.

"Alright then…I'll see you later Yurika." He said, turning to go.

"Wait!" She called. He turned back to her, blinking curiously.

"I was wondering…would you like to have a drink with me?" She asked. She didn't like to drink, but it might loosen him up, and besides, she'd do anything if it would put a smile on his face…

"Ah, why not. Sure, let's go." He said, surprising her. Yurika smiled widely.

"Alright! Let's go!" She led him by the arm towards the Officer's Lounge. Ranma blushed faintly at the way she held his arm to her chest.

"You ah, really don't need to do that. I know the way…" He started.

"No, it's okay! I want to." She replied, grinning madly. Ranma sweated.

"Women…" 

"Ah! Here it is!" Amuro exclaimed, glad to have finally found the elusive mess hall. Entering with the happy thought of finally getting something to eat, he found it mostly empty, and gasped as he saw that the kitchen was closed. Sighing in defeat and with his shoulders slumped, he turned to leave.

"Hey! Are you hungry?" A voice asked. Turning, and slightly annoyed that he had been snuck up on yet again, Amuro found himself staring at an attractive young woman with purple hair.

"Um…yes, actually I am…" He trailed off uncertainly. Who was this girl? Whoever, she was, she was quite pretty, he noted. The girl smiled.

"Well then, come along and I'll get you something." She turned and headed over to the kitchen, with Amuro quickly following, the thought of food making his mouth water. He hadn't eaten since leaving the White Base in the Gundam.

"I'm Megumi by the way." The girl said as then entered the kitchen.

"Amuro." He replied. She giggled.

"Yes, I know. The Gundam pilot right?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Um yeah…that's me." He rubbed his head in embarrassment. 

"Though I sure got myself whipped today…" He muttered distastefully. Megumi smiled.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Ranma's something else. I doubt there's anyone who could beat him…" She sighed dreamily.

"He beat an entire squad of Zaku's, and drove off a Gundam in an unarmed land combat Aestivalis." She smiled as she remembered. Amuro whistled in admiration.

"Wow, is he even human?" He asked jokingly. Megumi frowned.

"Sometimes I'm not so sure…" She muttered. Amuro blinked but decided not to question her. His stomach growled noisily, making him blush in embarrassment. Megumi laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot…" She moved over to another room, and came back with a large pot.

"There's still some soup left over, though I'm afraid all the lasagna is gone…" She explained apologetically. Amuro shrugged.

"Soup's fine with me!" He said excitedly, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the pot. Megumi smiled and fetched a bowl, filling it to the brim, and handing it to the young pilot with a spoon.

"Enjoy!" She said. Amuro nodded vigorously and immediately took it, heading out of the kitchen and grabbing a seat. 

"Thank you!" He said, quickly digging in. Megumi smiled and grabbed herself a bread roll to munch on.

"So…Tell me about piloting the Gundam…What's it like?" She asked curiously. Amuro shrugged his shoulders.

"Well…it's not too different in terms of operation from any other mobile suit, but the real difference is the sheer amount of power it has. Not only is the armor capable of taking gun fire and not even denting, but it also has excellent response time, and all sorts of neat weaponry." He gulped down another spoonful of soup, as it was quite good, though he had no idea what type it was. Megumi smiled.

"What kind of weaponry?" She asked. Amuro's eyes lit up.  
"Oh! Well, there's the twin beam sabers of course, there's its head Vulcan guns, and then there's my personal favorite…the beam rifle! It's a weapon that has the power of a battleship's secondary beam cannon, housed in a gun! It's great!" He was obviously very happy with his mobile suit, to say the least.

"Wow…" Megumi said in awe. Why didn't they have one of those? Ranma could really do some damage with a beam rifle…She could just see him heroically riding into battle, wielding one, and then returning, having single-handedly ended the war, and sweeping her off her feet. He would press their bodies tightly against one another and lean down…

"Um, Ms. Megumi?" Amuro asked. Megumi snapped out of her daydream, and laughed nervously.

"Um yes?" She hoped he hadn't noticed her zoning out like that…

"Um, can I have some more soup?" Amuro held up his empty bowl for emphasis. Megumi blinked for a moment, before laughing.

"Of, of course! Wait right here!" She scooped the bow up and headed back into the kitchen.

_"She's a nice girl…"_ Amuro thought with a smile as he watched her.

_"He's a nice guy, kind of like Ranma actually…"_ Megumi thought, glancing at Amuro out of the corner of her eye.

"You seem to like champagne…" Yurika stated, surprised to see Ranma drinking such a sophisticated drink. The fact that he picked a good type also surprised her.

"Er, someone, introduced it to me…" He said with a slight trace of nervousness in his voice.

"Well, I don't really like any kind of alcohol, but sometimes you just have to cut loose!" So saying, she downed a particularly large glass of the sparkling wine.

"Ah! That hits the spot!" She said with a slight slur. Ranma sweated.

"Um, Yurika, maybe you should take it easy…" He cautioned. Yurika giggled.

"Is that concern I hear?" She asked, pouring another glass. Ranma just sweated more as she threw it back like a pro.

"Ooh! It's warm in heresh!" Yurika laughed hysterically. Ranma gulped. She had finished over three fourths of the bottle…

"Um, maybe we should get you back to your quarters Yurika." He stood, and attempted to take her arm. Yurika wrenched free however, smirking.

"Hey! I'm your captain! And what I say goesh…I could have you court-marsh…" She giggled again.

"Wow, I feel kind of…funny…" She hiccupped and laughed again, before collapsing onto the ground. Ranma sighed as he heard her begin to snore lightly. Groaning, he picked the limp body of his commanding officer up, and with a nod to the barkeep, headed out the door. 

"Damn it Yurika, you really should have listened to me…" Ranma muttered, knowing the girl in his arms wouldn't be able to hear him. Groaning in annoyance, though it was half-hearted, Ranma stopped in front of his door, and with a quick sliding of his key card to open said door, he entered, gently placing his intoxicated Captain on his bed roll, and, trying to ignore the mental images this conjured up, he decided to go to bed himself. 

"Mmm, Ranma…" Yurika murmured in her sleep. Ranma blushed, and after realizing what he was doing, smacked his forehead in self-disgust.

_"Idiot, stop it right this second!"_ He told himself.

_"You have to be strong! You can't let weak emotions bog you down…"_ Nodding at his inner logic, which oddly enough, reminded him of his Father, the young pilot stripped down to his boxers and tank top, and settled down to sleep on the floor, using his shirt as a pillow.

"Well, at least no one saw me bring her into my room…" 

"Did you hear? Saotome brought the Captain into his room!" One crewmember said to another.

"Oh yeah? What do you suppose they were doing…?" The more clueless of the two asked.

"Well, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say…" The more imaginative of the two grinned nastily and made various obscene gestures with his hands, only to be smacked by a female crewmember.

"Pervert…" She muttered, walking off. And soon the entirety of the crew, save a few graveyard shift workers, settled in for bed. Little did they know of the coming trials in the days ahead…

Author's Notes: And another installment is finished…I'm sorry that both this chapter and the last one are so short, but I hope to make the next part very long. Oh yes, and just to let you know, I do indeed plan on bringing in other U.C Gundam characters, and maybe even a Ranma character or two.

Now I have two questions for you guys:

If you are reading this on fanfiction.net, do you think that I should move it to the Ranma ½ section? Or leave it in the Anime crossover section? Just curious… Do you think I should bring the curse back? I'm sort of split on that one, pardon the pun… 

Until next time…


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